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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27694954">mystified (by how this city screams your name)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bat206/pseuds/bat206'>bat206</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supergirl (TV 2015)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Drunken Confessions, F/F, I have no idea what I'm doing with this lol, Lena Luthor is thirsty, actor!lena, famous au, lena's famous famous and kara's semi-famous, sam has a thing for kara's abs, singer!kara, they always do, they fall in love tho</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 03:02:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>50,817</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27694954</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bat206/pseuds/bat206</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Once the video was over and Lena had replayed it a few times to let everything sink in, she had to force herself to turn her phone off and get to bed. Not before shooting off a few messages first, though.</p><p>To Sam: I think I’m in love. Like deadass.</p><p>To Sadie Cooper ❤: Thank you, love</p><p>And to Kara Z Danvers: Holy shit, you are gorgeous.</p><p>OR</p><p>Famous movie actress Lena Luthor sends a drunken DM to Instagram singer Kara Danvers.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Minor Alex Danvers/Kelly Olsen - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>493</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1711</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hello! like the tag says, i have no idea what i'm doing with this. i've had this idea for a little while now, and this chunk of writing has been sitting in my drafts, so i decided to post it to see what happens. :)</p><p>as always, title from a Taylor song. this time it's from Cornelia Street.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lena was drunk. Not blackout, lose-the-ability-to-see drunk, but she was drunk, to say the least. It was Saturday night, after all, and Sam had just left her penthouse, bidding Lena farewell with a, “don’t do anything stupid!” Lena brushed the comment off, barely being able to stand up as is. She’d had a long week. With the last two weeks of filming for her new movie coming up, she was spending every waking moment on set. Spanning from ten to thirteen to sixteen-hour days, Lena was lucky she managed to get this weekend off and actually be awake to experience it.</p><p> </p><p>It was only one AM so Lena wasn’t awfully tired. She figured another glass of red would do, followed by some mindless scrolling on her social media. Lena wasn’t particularly fond of the different social platforms. She had a hefty following on Instagram and Twitter, yes, but she didn’t post all too often. It was only ever to promote a new project of hers or a cause she believed in, with the occasional snapshot of herself and Sam or a candid she took of Merlot doing something she thought the world needed to see. (Merlot, being her tailless Manx cat, and <em> something </em>, being anything ranging from him eating, to him balancing on top of her chandelier.)</p><p> </p><p>She sat down on her couch, flute in hand, and opened up Twitter. Most of the accounts Lena followed were her castmates, so nothing too interesting caught her eye. Deciding to be a little adventurous, thanks to the four prior glasses of cabernet, Lena opened up her requested direct messages. That wasn’t a tab she ventured into regularly (or while sober), but she liked to do so every once in a while. </p><p> </p><p>She had thousands of unopened messages from fans all around the world. It made her feel a little bit guilty that she wouldn’t be able to read them all, just the most recent ones. Downing the rest of her wine, Lena delved right into the messages.</p><p> </p><p>Most of them were just from people asking her how her day was or telling her how much they loved her. She made sure to leave a heart under the ones that talked about how her roles have made lasting impacts on their personal lives. Of course she’d stumble upon a random dick pic or link to a filthy porn site, but she learned how to scout out the accounts to avoid.</p><p> </p><p>Lena let out a yawn after what only felt like a half hour of being on Twitter. Checking the time, she realized it was nearing two-thirty. Where had the time gone? She shook her head to try and feign off the heaviness of her eyelids and went to open one last message. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p><b>Sadie Cooper </b>❤</p><p>
  <em> LENAAAA!! LOOK AT THIS GIRL! SHE DEDICATED THIS SONG TO YOU!!! </em>
</p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/karazdanvers/"> <em> https://www.instagram.com/karazdanvers/ </em> </a> <em> CGab69420nPr </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> She’s HOT too!! </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Chuckling at the girl’s obvious excitement, Lena clicked the link, which led her to an Instagram post. It was a video of a woman sitting down in front of a microphone. The woman was dressed in what looked to be a Star Wars t-shirt of some sort, and a pair of ripped blue jeans. Her honey blonde hair was tied back into a loose ponytail. A pair of thin, black frames sat on the bridge of her nose covering up the most stunning blue eyes Lena had ever seen. The woman was beautiful, to put it simply, and Lena was seriously considering getting up to pour herself another glass of wine.</p><p> </p><p>When she clicked play, the woman’s voice filled her penthouse.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Hey, everybody! I hope you all had a great week. I surely did. I got the chance to hang out with my nephew yesterday and that was probably the highlight of my week. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Then, the woman smiled and- <em> oh. </em>That was something Lena would kill to see again.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Anywho, I’m going to be singing a little bit of a song today that was just released. It’s actually going to be on the soundtrack of Lena Luthor’s newest movie, which is awesome. Lena is crazy talented and has to be like one of the best people in the business right now, so I’m going to dedicate this song to her. Here we go. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Lena could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks at the praise the woman gave her. She couldn’t wipe her own smile off of her face throughout the entire performance. It wasn’t the full song nor anything like the original Lena had heard a countless number of times now. The woman stripped it down to an acoustic version, fit with just a guitar and piano. Her voice matched her looks.</p><p> </p><p>Once the video was over and Lena had replayed it a few times to let everything sink in, she had to force herself to turn her phone off and get to bed. Not before shooting off a few messages first, though.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>To Sam: <em> I think I’m in love. Like deadass. </em></p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>To Sadie Cooper ❤: <em> Thank you, love </em></p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>And to Kara Z Danvers: <em> Holy shit, you are gorgeous. </em></p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Kara Danvers wasn’t a household name, and she knew that. She had about 163K followers on Instagram and about half of that on Twitter. She was grateful for all of her supporters, those who’ve stuck with her on her journey for the past two years. Her journey to what? She didn’t know. She was just glad that she got to share her love of making music with the world.</p><p> </p><p>She had started singing when she was thirteen years old, right after her parents passed away in a house fire. She was devastated, of course. The rest of her family was estranged and her older cousin had only just turned twenty-four. He deemed himself unfit to care for a child, so he dropped her off with the Danvers family. </p><p> </p><p>The Danverses were the best thing that could have happened to Kara. Eliza and Jeremiah treated her like she was one of their own right from the start. Their daughter, Alex, was a little standoffish at first. She was fourteen, going on fifteen at the time, so having another person in her house, taking all of her parents’ attention was hard to accept. It took everyone a few months to adjust to their new living arrangements, but they all settled down into a comfortable routine eventually.</p><p> </p><p>It was Jeremiah who suggested that Kara get a hobby to keep her mind off of her parents. Her initial idea was to join the biochemistry club Alex was in, but the second she stepped foot into the school’s lab, Kara felt like an alien. All of the kids in the club, Alex included, had a deep passion for science, and that just wasn’t Kara’s thing.</p><p> </p><p>The tennis team came and went faster than the biochemistry club, and there was no way Kara was signing up for the chess club. Choir was the only choice left that Kara would even consider, so she signed up for that instead. In that soundproof room, with those eleven other mediocre at best kids, Kara found herself. </p><p> </p><p>Music was where Kara’s heart lay. She jumped from singing, to piano, to guitar, to (reluctantly, on Eliza’s part) drums. Every teacher she had told her that she had natural talent, a raw gift that should be shared. That’s what Kara remembered when she decided to create her Instagram page a couple years ago. She never dreamed that it would become what it was today.</p><p> </p><p>Her most recent video was doing fairly well. It had accumulated nearly fifteen thousand views in almost a day, so Kara would call that a win. Heading over to her direct messages page, she noticed that she had three requests. The first one was from a boy from Thailand who said he loved her rendition of Backstreet Boys’ <em> I Want It That Way </em> she made with her friends James and Winn a few weeks back. The second DM was from her best friend Lucy.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <b>Undercover Luce</b>
</p><p>
  <em> I made another account since you blocked me on my main you bitch  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>And that was followed by a long string of middle finger emojis. Kara laughed at her friend’s antics, then moved on to the final message. Reading the name, she did a double take. It was early, so her eyes probably just deceived her. Shaking the grogginess out of her vision, Kara opened her eyes again, but no changes were seen. She had a message from Lena Luthor. The Lena Luthor. Emmy-nominated actress Lena Luthor. The little, blue checkmark by her name confirming it all. </p><p> </p><p><b>Message Request from </b> <b> <em>Lena Luthor ✓ (thelenaluthor)</em> </b></p><p>
  <em> Holy shit, you are gorgeous. </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Holy shit, indeed.</p><p> </p><p>Swiping out of the Instagram app, Kara hastily dialed Lucy’s phone number. “Pick up, pick up, pick up,” she chanted as the phone continued to ring. Right when Kara thought she was gonna be sent to voicemail, Lucy’s groggy, sleep-husked voice sounded out.</p><p> </p><p>“Danvers, it’s ten AM on a Sunday. Someone better be dead or dying.”</p><p> </p><p>“Lucy! Lena Luthor DM’d me!”</p><p> </p><p>A pause. </p><p> </p><p>“What?”</p><p> </p><p>“Lena Luthor direct messaged me on Instagram last night!” Kara reiterated. She was nearly yelling into the phone from how excited she was.</p><p> </p><p>“Woah, pipe down, Kar. I’m still kinda hungover,” Lucy told her, the annoyance from her earlier tone now seeping away. “What happened, again?”</p><p> </p><p>Kara sighed and lowered her voice. “Lena Luthor DM’d me. Last night. I didn’t see it until just now.”</p><p> </p><p>“Lena Luthor. You mean the girl that was in that movie trilogy with Bruce Willis,<em> that </em>Lena Luthor?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes!” Kara put the call on speaker, then opened up Instagram again. She stared back at the message in awe. “And Luce, she complimented me.”</p><p> </p><p>A creaking bed frame and ruffling sheets could be heard through the phone signally that Lucy had finally decided to get out of bed. “Did she like one of your covers?”</p><p> </p><p>“Even better. She called me gorgeous.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, wow,” Lucy sputtered, just as shocked by Luthor's drunken confession as Kara was. “You sure she had the right person?”</p><p> </p><p>“Lucy!” Kara whined.</p><p> </p><p>Lucy let out a short, cackle-type laugh at Kara's antics. “Sorry, sorry, you’re just too easy to rile up.” </p><p> </p><p>“Do you really think she meant to send it to someone else?” Kara couldn’t help but to feel insecure. This <em>was</em> Lena Luthor they were talking about.</p><p> </p><p>Sensing the shift in Kara’s tone, Lucy stopped joking around. “No, Kara, she sent it to you. Kara Danvers. You are an amazing singer and she was probably binging your videos and just decided to send you a nice message. You are a ten, even on the worst of days. Don’t doubt yourself.”</p><p> </p><p>Kara smiled warmly at her best friend’s reassurance. “Thanks, Luce.”</p><p> </p><p>“You got it, Danvers. And besides, there’s no other celebrities with names similar to yours. I mean, besides Cara Delevigne. Or maybe she thought you were Blake Lively.”</p><p> </p><p>Kara scrunched her face up in confusion, “How does Blake Lively sound similar to Kara Danvers?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not the name, it’s the face,” Lucy elaborated. “Have you ever seen a picture of Blake? You two look crazy alike.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, let’s just hope Lena messaged me because she actually likes me and this isn’t some case of mistaken identity.”</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>To Lena Luthor: <em>Thank you so much! You’re quite beautiful, yourself. Oh, and you have some pretty good movies I guess ;) </em></p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>ask and ye shall receive. the love you all showed on the last chapter blew me away. here is chapter two!</p><p>sam and lena discuss what lena did over brunch and there's a deep dive into lena's past.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lena's head was pounding when she woke up on Sunday morning to her cell phone blaring loudly on her night stand. Keeping herself tucked in the bed, she stretched her arm out and grabbed her phone. Sam was calling her. She pressed accept and sat the phone down on her pillow next to her ear.</p><p> </p><p>"Hello?" Lena cringed internally at how rough her morning voice sounded. </p><p> </p><p>"Of course you're still in bed."</p><p> </p><p>"I am not still in bed."</p><p> </p><p>"Lena, honey, I FaceTimed you. Right now I'm getting an excellent view of the top of your head."</p><p> </p><p>Groaning, Lena sat up in her bed. At the feeling of her back stretching, she let out an involuntary moan. "What do you want?"</p><p> </p><p>Sam laughed, "Good morning to you, too, you gremlin." Sam was up and already dressed for the day. From her background, Lena could tell she was sitting in her living room. </p><p> </p><p>Lena on the other hand looked a mess. The little rectangle in the top right corner revealed a messy bush of dark brown hair, bags underneath wary eyes, and smeared mascara. She must've forgotten to wipe off her makeup last night in her drunken state. </p><p> </p><p>"I look terrible."</p><p> </p><p>"It just means you slept well," Sam countered. "What time did you end up crashing, anyway? I got a text from you at nearly three in the morning."</p><p> </p><p>God, Lena didn't even want to know what she had sent to her best friend. It was either something super embarassing, or something that was too unintelligable to understand.</p><p> </p><p>Lena pushed the covers off of herself and finally got up out of bed. Her bare feet were cold against the hard wood of her penthouse but the sensation woke her up more. She quickly made her way across her room and into her bathroom.</p><p> </p><p>"What did I say?"</p><p> </p><p>"Something about thinking you were in love," Sam said, obvious confusion in her tone. </p><p> </p><p>Lena froze mid-way from grabbing her toothbrush. If the cool floor didn't wake her up, that surely did. </p><p> </p><p><em>In love</em>? Who the hell could that be about?</p><p> </p><p>Unless..</p><p> </p><p>"Unless what?"</p><p> </p><p>Sam's voice broke Lena from her trance. "Huh?"</p><p> </p><p>"You asked who could that text be about, then said <em>unless</em>. What's that supposed to mean?"</p><p> </p><p>Lena sighed, tightly shutting her eyes. Dammit. The blonde woman with the stunning blue eyes and angelic voice hadn't just been a dream. That's the last time she'll be responding to fan messages drunk. While sober, Lena at least had a handle over her thirst. Drunk Lena was a whole different ball game. Case and point.</p><p> </p><p>"Lena?"</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, yeah, I'm here," she replied to Sam. "And I know who that message is about. Be at my place in thirty? I'll order breakfast."</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Breakfast turned into brunch when Lena realized she hadn't woken up until eleven AM. She couldn't remember the last time she slept in so late. Probably the day after her first movie premiere. That had been a night, to say the least. Lena vowed to never go clubbing with Kristen Stewart ever again.</p><p> </p><p>The brunch was nothing fancy, just some cinnamon buns and coffee from Noonan's. Lena had hung up with Sam, placed the order, then completed the rest of her morning routine. She traded her silk pajama set for a cami and a pair of sweatpants. There was no need to get too dressed up. It was a Sunday, after all, and she didn't need to impress Sam. </p><p> </p><p>Lena finished laying their food out on the kitchen island just before she heard the signature <em>twist</em> of her front door knob being opened. Sam walked in, clad in a sun dress and a smile.</p><p> </p><p>"Looks like someone finally got their shit together," she teased as she strode into Lena's apartment. She went straight for a barstool seat at the island, not even bothering to take off her coat or put away her purse.</p><p> </p><p>"Tough talk for someone who's eating food I paid for," Lena shot back, a playful grin on her face. She opened up her cutlery drawer and pulled out two forks. Passing one to Sam, she took the barstool across from her.</p><p> </p><p>"So," Sam started, cutting a piece of her cinnamon bun with her fork, "who was that text about?"</p><p> </p><p>"Do we have to get right to that?"</p><p> </p><p>Sam threw her an unpleased look. "Yes, we do. You made me drive all the way over here. I wanna know who you are <em>deadass in love with</em>."</p><p> </p><p>Lena sighed and cut into her own cinnamon bun. "I decided to go through some of my direct messages last night-"</p><p> </p><p>"Lena," Sam cut her off, a hint of warning in her tone, "remember the last time you did that? Your publicist didn't allow you access to your Twitter account for like a month."</p><p> </p><p>Around a year ago, Lena got drunk (because of course she did) and ended up giving out her personal phone number to twenty different people in her private messages. She woke up the next morning with hundreds of texts and calls from random fans of hers. Her phone wouldn't stop ringing long enough for her to get a message to her manager that she needed a new number. She had to completely power it off and use her laptop to FaceTime her manager. That was a delightful conversation. </p><p> </p><p>In retrospect, it wasn't that big of a deal. Other celebrities leak their numbers on accident, too. It wasn't that rare of an occurrence. She got a new number and thought that was the end of it, until her publicist restricted her Twitter account. Everything she wanted to tweet had to be pre-approved and all of her messages were turned off. She finally convinced him to give her her full access back a few weeks later.</p><p> </p><p>"I didn't give my number out, calm down," Lena assured her.</p><p> </p><p>Sam took a breath of relief. "Okay, good. Continue."</p><p> </p><p>"As I was saying, I went through my messages. I saw one from this girl and it had a link to an Instagram post. It was a video of a woman singing <em>Hellfire</em> from the movie soundtrack. God, Sam, she sounded incredible."</p><p> </p><p>"Incredible, huh?" Sam smirked. "That's a mighty praise. There's gotta be a catch."</p><p> </p><p>Lena furrowed her brows and shook her head. "Why can't I just compliment this woman's voice without you thinking there's something else to it?"</p><p> </p><p>"Because <em>you</em>," Sam pointed at her with her fork, "are the thirstiest lesbian I've ever met. She's hot isn't she?"</p><p> </p><p>And that's how they sat for a moment. Sam with her fork pointed at Lena, and Lena just staring Sam down. It was a challenge, and they both knew it. Whoever broke first lost. Either way, Lena comes out on the bottom. She couldn't lie to Sam. The woman <em>was</em> ridiculously attractive.</p><p> </p><p>"Okay, fine," Lena crumbled. She ignored Sam's whoops of victory and went on. "She's so cute, Sam, it's insane. I can't even describe it. And she even said nice things about my work. She's like the full package."</p><p> </p><p>"I knew it, I knew it!" Sam laughed. "Show me what she looks like."</p><p> </p><p>Lena picked her phone up from beside her and opened Instagram. Surprisingly, the app hadn't refreshed at all and left her on the woman's page. Kara Danvers, Lena realized, was her name. She had forgotten it.</p><p> </p><p>"Here." She handed her phone over to Sam who accepted it eagerly. She took her time leisurely scrolling through Kara's account. Kara's voice emitted through her phone on more than one occasion, Sam sometimes letting out small <em>oohs</em> at some of the notes Kara would hit. </p><p> </p><p>"You weren't lying, she's really good," Sam agreed, seemingly entranced by whichever photo of Kara she was currently looking at.</p><p> </p><p>"I know right. It took me by surprise, honestly. I can't remember the last time I heard a good live singer-"</p><p> </p><p>"Holy fuck!" Sam cursed, her eyes going as wide as saucers.</p><p> </p><p>"What is it?"</p><p> </p><p>Sam shoved the phone into Lena's hands. "You messaged Kara, too. And she replied!"</p><p> </p><p>It was Lena's turn to be shocked. "What!" She yelped, taking the phone from Sam. There it was, plain as day, on the screen.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Me</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>.Holy shit, you are gorgeous</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Kara Danvers</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>Thank you so much! You're quite beautiful, yourself. Oh, and you have some pretty good movies I guess ;)</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Lena could've combusted on the spot. Not only did she drunkenly send an embarrassing message to this woman at two in the morning, the woman replied to her, with another compliment, no less. What did this mean? Was Kara just trying to humor Lena? A random lady slides into your DMs fawning over you, so you joke around and sarcastically call her beautiful in return. But Lena wasn't just a random lady. She had two Emmy nominations and a People's Choice Award under her belt. Sometimes she forgot what she looked like to the outside world. Always Lena <em>Luthor</em>, not just Lena. It was so much easier to be "just Lena."</p><p> </p><p>"Shit," Lena swore softly. "I can't believe I sent that."</p><p> </p><p>Sam either couldn't tell Lena was going through an entire internal crisis, or she just didn't care to mention it. She was enjoying Lena's mistake a little too much. </p><p> </p><p>"You should ask her out," Sam suggested like it was the simplest thing in the world.</p><p> </p><p>"Have you gone mad? I can't possibly do that."</p><p> </p><p>"You can and you will." Sam got up from her barstool and rounded the island to stand next to Lena. "This is the first person you've liked since Andrea. You deserve to get out there again."</p><p> </p><p>Andrea was... a lot, to say the least. Lena met her at Mt. Helena Boarding School when they were fifteen. Back then, Lena didn't have any friends. She was the weird Luthor girl who everyone's parents told them to keep their distance from. Lillian and Lionel couldn't even be bothered to come to visitor day. She'd only been there for three hours and she could tell that her time there would be incredibly lonely. Until she met Andrea.</p><p> </p><p>In her extroverted, outgoing way, Andrea scooped Lena up and invited herself into her life. The first night they spent together was in a bar where the bartender was too lazy to even card them. Andrea had told her that confidence was the key to getting what you want. That was the first of many, many nights in that bar. The two became inseparable. Andrea obviously put herself out there and made other friends, but Lena stayed closed off. All she had was Andrea.</p><p> </p><p>It was Andrea who helped Lena realize she was gay. Lena had this all-encompassing feeling of longing the more and more time they spent with one another. Her heart fluttered whenever Andrea would smile at her. But that could not compare to the way her stomach did flips at the sound of Andrea's laugh. She kept her feelings (once she finally realized they <em>were</em> feelings and that normal people don't day dream about kissing their best friend) to herself. Andrea was her only friend, and she could not ruin their friendship over something she was sure Andrea wouldn't want. </p><p> </p><p>They lost touch a little while after graduating from Mt. Helena. Lena went on to study at MIT, much to her dismay. Back then, she was only seventeen and under the control of Lillian. She knew after she finished out college, so would be thrown into the world of her family's business. While she had a deep love for the sciences, Lena couldn't picture herself spending the rest of her life hunched over in a lab, behind the scenes. She'd rather be on a stage. She and Andrea had immersed themselves into the theatre community at Mt. Helena. Lillian had no say in what she did there. She could be who she wanted to be and do what she wanted to do, and that was act.</p><p> </p><p>The minute she turned eighteen, Lena dropped out of MIT. Money wasn't a problem for her, curtesy of her inheritance, so Lena stayed in Massachusetts. She moved into a studio apartment in Boston, then signed up for the best acting classes the city had to offer. Lena was playing Vera Claythorne in one of their productions of <em>And Then There Were None </em>for an audience (the cast had been previously informed) that was littered with scouts from talent agencies. Lena wasn't expecting anyone to contact her, but the next morning she had nearly a dozen emails offering her any agent she wanted. </p><p> </p><p>Lena was blown away. She picked CatCo Talent, got personally assigned to Cat Grant herself as her agent, moved out to National City, and then the rest is history.</p><p> </p><p>She and Andrea reconnected a few years into Lena's new career. Lena's name was buzzing. If you were a news outlet, you were certain to get reads if you put her name in your headlines. Cat got her casted in anything she could get her claws on. One movie in particular was an indie film by an up-and-coming studio trying to get its name out there. Cat was old friends with the CEO and owed her a favor, so she got Lena to agree to do the movie. </p><p> </p><p>Having not talked to her in years, imagine Lena's surprise when she walks into the first table read and sees Andrea. The two of them instantly clicked again and acted as if three years hadn't gone by. They wrapped the movie within a month and a half, but stayed in contact with each other. The longer the two hung out together, though, Lena's feelings for Andrea resurfaced.</p><p> </p><p>Lena was much more confident this time around, having gaining that from Andrea and acting lessons. She womanned up and confessed the way she felt to Andrea one night in her penthouse. </p><p> </p><p>In short, it didn't go as smoothly as she hoped. </p><p> </p><p>Andrea wasn't rude or unaccepting, she just didn't reciprocate Lena's feelings. She let her down softly, and that's what hurt Lena the most. The very thing she feared as a kid came true. Just when her and Andrea were getting back to the place where they used to be, Lena ruined it by opening her mouth. </p><p> </p><p>That was a year ago. </p><p> </p><p>Lena hasn't tried to go out with anyone else since.</p><p> </p><p>"I don't like her, Sam," Lena grumbled as she stood up from her seat. She made her way over to her mini bar and traded her coffee out for a bottle of scotch. "I just find her attractive. I'd hardly call that a crush."</p><p> </p><p>"Lena, it's not even noon," Sam tried, but to no avail. </p><p> </p><p>"It's five PM somewhere," Lena deadpanned. She grabbed a glass and popped open the half-empty bottle. Pouring herself just enough to get the bitter taste of heartbreak out of her mouth, Lena downed the liquor in one swig. She savored the burning sensation as it went down her throat.</p><p> </p><p>"You done now?"</p><p> </p><p>Lena looked back over at her friend. Her mood was somewhat duller, but she didn't look disappointed. Sam could never be disappointed in Lena, even if she tried.</p><p> </p><p>Lena only met her with a nod of approval.</p><p> </p><p>"Okay," Sam sighed. "Why don't you come on over here so I can help you come up with a flirty reply to send to blondie."</p><p> </p><p>Lena couldn't help the smile the creeped across her face.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Me</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>.So now I'm talented and beautiful. You must really like me Kara Danvers</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Somewhere, in an apartment across the city, Kara's scream can be heard from two floors down.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you for reading! have a wonderful Thanksgiving if you celebrate it! leave a comment if you are so inclined :)</p><p>oh, i also figured out what i'm doing now lol. i have a general idea of how i want this story to go, so all i need to do is write it (which is arguably the hardest part)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>here we go, chapter three! </p><p>kara, winn, and alex go live on kara's Instagram account and an exchange of text messages with a certain movie star is revealed ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Lena Luthor</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>So now I'm talented and beautiful. You must really like me Kara Danvers.</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>You must really like me Kara Danvers.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>You must really like me..</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>..Kara Danvers. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>No matter how many times Kara reread Lena's message over and over, the buzz it gave her never faded. Lena Luthor was talking to her. Well, typing to her, but it's the same idea. And who was she to be getting Lena's attention? The most famous person Kara had ever talked to was Midvale's local news meteorologist when she came to her fourth grade class to give a lesson on different types of clouds. (Cumulus clouds were Kara's favorite. She thought they looked like cotton candy.)</p><p> </p><p>At the sound of a few loud knocks on her door, Kara quickly shut her phone off. Alex and Kelly were coming over and there was no way she could let either of them know about her messages with Lena. Alex would no doubt tease her about it and Kelly would try and reassure her that having a crush was natural and shouldn't be looked down on, or some psychological crap like that. It would just be far better to avoid that conversation all together.</p><p> </p><p>Kara got up from the couch and crossed her apartment. She opted not to look through the peephole, already knowing who would be on the other side. Thinking back, she probably should've spared a glance because it would've saved her the surprise of seeing her friend Winn, his computer bag slung over his shoulder, standing in the hallway with a baby in his hands. </p><p> </p><p>"Winn? What are you doing here? And why do you have my nephew?"</p><p> </p><p>Ignoring both of her questions, Winn barged right by Kara and into her apartment. </p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, sure, come right in," Kara muttered, shutting the door.</p><p> </p><p>"I ran into Alex in the lobby and she told me to take Jay up to your apartment," Winn said. "Can you take him? He's heavy."</p><p> </p><p>Kara chuckled in amusement at Winn's nonexistent upper body strength. "Winn, he's barely twenty pounds." Kara easily took the six-month-old from her friend's grasp. "What are you lifting when you go to the gym with James?"</p><p> </p><p>He gave her a somewhat sheepish look. "I borrow the tens from the yoga studio." </p><p> </p><p>"You're ridiculous," Kara said. She sat back down on the couch, allowing Jay to sit down on her lap. He was an easy baby so spending a few minutes with him without Alex or Kelly wouldn't be too bad. </p><p> </p><p>"Hey, where is Alex, anyway? You said you were with her in the lobby."</p><p> </p><p>Winn, who had already made himself at home, was ransacking her fridge. From her position on the couch, Kara could see that he was pulling out a pint of ice cream. <em>Great.</em> </p><p> </p><p>"I think she and Kelly are having a quickie in the elevator."</p><p> </p><p>"What!"</p><p> </p><p>"No, I'm just kidding," he laughed, kicking the freezer door closed. He grabbed two spoons from the drawer and made his way to the couch. "Kelly had an emergency at the office with a patient, and Alex forgot her phone in her car. She should be up soon. Ice cream?"</p><p> </p><p>"How kind of you to offer me some of my own food," she replied sarcastically but still reached out to grab the spoon.</p><p> </p><p>She and Winn met at a college party, which is surprising considering neither of them were really the "party" type. They were both the laughing stocks of their respective high schools, so college was the chance they needed to turn a new leaf. (People bullied Kara for having weird mannerisms and being adopted because apparently a kid's parents dying was <em>super </em>funny, and Winn for having a dad that went psycho and killed a bunch of people. If anything, a kid having a serial killer as a father would be a good reason to not pick on them.) </p><p> </p><p>They definitely weren't popular around National City University, but they also weren't nobodies. The party was hosted by a mutual friend of theirs. They got introduced by said friend, and instantly hit it off. Kara and Winn were attached at the hip throughout freshman and sophomore year. They met James and Lucy in junior year at a home football game. The four of them have all been best friends ever since.</p><p> </p><p>Alex let herself in a few minutes later using her own key. She managed to scoop Jay from Kara's arms right before he blew a gasket for staying up past his nap time. She put him in the middle of Kara's bed and set up a barrier of pillows around him so he wouldn't roll around, then joined Kara and Winn in the living room.</p><p> </p><p>"Sorry about that. Kelly and I are trying this new sleep training thing and we technically aren't supposed to put him down until an hour from now, but I don't want to annoy you guys with his crying," Alex explained. She plopped down, rather ungracefully, onto the couch beside Kara. She snatched a spoonful of ice cream from her sister, ignoring Kara's groans of protest.</p><p> </p><p>"Okay, are we doing this, or what?"</p><p> </p><p>"Doing what?" Winn asked, his mouth full of Rocky Road.</p><p> </p><p>"Winn, what are you even doing here?" Alex questioned in lieu of a response. </p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, I was expecting Alex and Kelly, but not you," Kara added. </p><p> </p><p>"What's so wrong with wanting to visit my best friend?"</p><p> </p><p>Kara stood up, grabbing the ice cream from Winn's hands on her way up. "Nothing. You just never do it unless you want something, so fess up."</p><p> </p><p>"Fine," he groaned. "My eight month anniversary with Lyra is coming up and I was trying to get us reservations at that new seafood place downtown. Turns out, getting a two-person booth there costs about eighty dollars."</p><p> </p><p>Alex rolled her eyes, sensing where this was heading.</p><p> </p><p>"It's just, you know how much I love and respect you, Kara. You have been such a great friend to me, and I'd really like to know if you could spare me a fifty?" He asked Kara, batting his eyelashes for good measure.</p><p> </p><p>"Fifty bucks? Winn, are you crazy?" Kara whisper-shouted. They had to be careful not to wake the baby. "I make money off of sponsored Instagram posts! I can't just lend you that kind of cash."</p><p> </p><p>"I- I edit your videos for free. Without me, you wouldn't have anything <em>to</em> post!" He shot back, using an alternate approach now that being a kiss-ass failed him.</p><p> </p><p>Kara's face contorted into an expression of annoyance mixed with offense. "You offered to edit my videos pro bono three years ago. You cannot use that as some sort of guilt trip!"</p><p> </p><p>Winn stood up, too, and tried to use his two inches on Kara as a show of dominance. "I can do whatever-"</p><p> </p><p>"Both of you shut up," Alex cut in. When Kara and Winn went quiet, she dug into her wallet. Pulling out two twenties and a ten, she handed them to Winn. "No need to pay me back, just take your girl out on a nice date, and shut the fuck up so you don't wake my kid."</p><p> </p><p>Kara may not have been able to hand out half a hundred bucks like it was no big deal, but Alex and her FBI salary were a different story. </p><p> </p><p>Winn stared down at Alex in shock. "I couldn't possibly take that from you, Alex."</p><p> </p><p>Alex just shrugged, "Fine by me." She went to put the money back into her wallet, but Winn's hand reached out and grabbed the money from her.</p><p> </p><p>"On second thought, I think I'll keep it," he backtracked, a toothy grin on display. He hastily pocketed the bills. "Thanks."</p><p> </p><p>"Don't mention it," Alex hummed. She leaned back into the couch and flipped her wrist to check the time on her watch. "Kara, it's almost one. Are we doing this livestream, or?"</p><p> </p><p>Kara did Instagram lives every Wednesday and Sunday. Wednesdays were for weekly check-ins, and Sundays were for reflections on the week and goals for the upcoming one. She liked to interact with her supporters as much as possible and the weekly livestreams were her favorite form of doing so.</p><p> </p><p>Usually Kara would be by herself during the livestreams, but she invited Alex along for today's. Alex had been in more than a few lives over the years and her fans grew to love her yin to Kara's yang.</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, it's still on. Let me get my tripod." </p><p> </p><p>Kara returned from her bedroom a few moments later, tripod with an attachable ring light in hand. She sat it down in front of the couch where she and Alex would be sitting, then flicked on the light. She checked her phone to make sure it had a good enough battery percentage (ninety-four percent), then slid it into place on the tripod. Opening Instagram, Kara went to her profile, clicked on her story tab, then scrolled to the livestream feature.</p><p> </p><p>"You ready?" She asked Alex. Alex gave her a nod in response, so she pressed the "go live" button. </p><p> </p><p>For the first few seconds, there were no viewers, just the camera allowing both Kara and Alex to look at themselves. Then, zero went to fifty, and fifty went to two hundred, and two hundred shot up to three thousand viewers. Kara had learned that keeping a consistent time about when you did certain things like live-streaming or posting kept a consistent audience. </p><p> </p><p>Kara smiled at the hearts filling up the screen and the comments rolling by. She managed to catch a few names before they disappeared, saying a quick hello to them. </p><p> </p><p>"Hey, guys! How's it going?"</p><p> </p><p>Various "hellos" and "goods" and "greats" flooded the screen. Kara caught a few people say they could be better or that her livestream brightened their day and that made her heart ache for those who weren't doing the best. That's what these streams were for. If Kara could help at least one person smile, she was doing her job right.</p><p> </p><p>"Okay, I think we're gonna start with a Q&amp;A, then we'll wrap things up with our goals for next week. How does that sound?"</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>"Alright, Kara, Gemma asks what are our favorite movies?" Alex read. "My favorite is definitely <em>Terminator 2</em>. I'm a big fan of all the Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, but the <em>Terminator </em>saga are my favorites."</p><p> </p><p>"Wasn't he the governor of California for a little while?" Winn asked. He was sitting off-camera, working on editing a new cover for Kara on his laptop. "That was weird."</p><p> </p><p>Kara turned the tripod to the left a bit so the viewers could get a quick glance at Winn. "There's Winn. Say hi, Winn." Winn managed a quick wave in the general direction of the camera, but then headed straight back to work. Kara fixed the set up back on herself and Alex, "He's editing a video that's gonna come out tomorrow. Anyway, my all-time favorite movie is the <em>Wizard of Oz</em>, but I also love the original<em> Jurassic Park</em>. I think Spielberg did an amazing job directing it, and the screenplay is great, too. Overall, it just really trumps the rest of the movies in the franchise." </p><p> </p><p>"Nerd," Winn called from beside them again. Kara playfully shoved him in the shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>"No, guys, Kara doesn't just like these movies. She's <em>obsessed</em> with them," Alex told the people watching. "The first three movies were on repeat in our house as kids. She had posters, action figures, you name it. I think she actually cried when they announced <em>Jurassic World</em>."</p><p> </p><p>"Okay, that's enough of that," Kara interrupted Alex. She had to stop Alex before she said what she knew she was going to say. "Let's go find another question, shall we? Ooh, what's my favorite color? My favorite color is ye-"</p><p> </p><p>"And don't even get me started on her crush on Lena Luthor. If she didn't cry when they announced that movie, she definitely cried when they had Lena's character die."</p><p> </p><p>"I think they get it-" </p><p> </p><p>Kara's protests fell deaf upon her sister's ears. "We watched it in the movie theater together when it first came out, and when Lena was picked up into the air by that pterodactyl thing from hell, it was just the waterworks. She kept asking me, 'Why her? Why bring Lena on just to kill her?' It was hilarious," Alex teased. </p><p> </p><p>"Alex, enough!" Kara snapped uncharacteristically. She reached forward, ending the livestream. Taking her phone off of the tripod, she got up from the couch and marched over to the kitchen counter. Her back was turned towards the living room.</p><p> </p><p>Alex looked at Winn who was equally surprised at Kara's sudden outburst. After sparing a glance at her son to make sure he was still asleep, Alex got up and made her way towards her sister.</p><p> </p><p>"Hey, I'm sorry. It was just a joke, Kar," she stated gently. </p><p> </p><p>Kara set her jaw, her knuckles going white from the strain of how hard she was gripping the counter. She hung her head at Alex's apology. Of course she knew Alex was messing around, but the teasing didn't exactly help her current situation. Specifically, the message Lena sent her that she had yet to respond to.</p><p> </p><p>"I've been texting Lena Luthor," Kara said softly. </p><p> </p><p>When Alex and Winn didn't say anything for a moment, Kara thought she might've been too quiet.</p><p> </p><p>Then, "You <em>what</em>?"</p><p> </p><p>Kara turned around to find Alex and Winn both up on their feet. She sighed, "It started last night. She messaged me over Instagram, basically flirting with me, and I sent something back. Now, she sent something like three hours ago and I've been too nervous to reply to her. And, then you," she pointed at Alex, "brought up my schoolgirl crush on her and usually I wouldn't care, but it's really overwhelming me right now."</p><p> </p><p>"Okay, that's- that's a lot to take in," Winn said. "Lena Luthor's like oober famous."</p><p> </p><p>"Which is exactly why this is stressing me out." Kara frustratedly ran her hands through her hair. "Like, why me? Why is she flirting with me? Is it a joke or something?"</p><p> </p><p>Alex gazed at Kara sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Kar. I didn't know."</p><p> </p><p>"It's fine," Kara brushed it off. "I'll tweet something later about my phone dying or something so that's why I ended the stream. Right now, I'm pretty hungry, though. Big Belly Burger?"</p><p> </p><p>Alex could tell Kara was using lunch as an excuse to drop the subject for the moment. She knew she would be able to get more out of her sister later on a full stomach and with Winn gone. </p><p> </p><p>"Oh yeah, I'm starving." Winn quickly saved his work, then shut down his laptop. It was obvious to both Danvers sisters that Winn didn't exactly notice the tension in the room.</p><p> </p><p>Alex nodded her head. "Yeah, sure. Could you get me a burger? Jay’s still out.”</p><p> </p><p>Kara agreed and they sorted out the payment. She and Winn decided to go and pick up the food while Alex stayed at Kara’s place with Jay. <br/><br/></p><p>“Hey, Kara,” Winn called from the driver’s seat when they finally made it to his car.</p><p><br/>Kara hummed in acknowledgment.</p><p> </p><p>”Don’t question your worth. Anyone would be lucky to have you, Lena Luther included.”</p><p> </p><p>Kara smiled at his attempt to bring her mood back up. “You know, Lucy said almost the exact same thing.”</p><p> </p><p>Winn gasped in mock offense. “You told Lucy about texting Lena Luthor before me? You wound me, Danvers.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Lena couldn’t help but to feel a pang disappointment run through her at what she saw in her message thread with Kara.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <strong>Me</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>.So now I’m talented and beautiful. You must really like me Kara Danvers</em>
</p><p>
  <strong> <em>Seen</em> </strong>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thanks for reading! leave a comment if you want. i love reading them :)</p><p> </p><p>also, i know i didn't explicitly say it in the chapter, but jay is short for jeremiah.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>lena and sam chat in lena's trailer and *gasp* a date may be on the horizon</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hello!! thanks for coming back to this story again lol. i'm so glad you guys are enjoying this because i am just getting started ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lena could hardly focus on set the next day. She had a six AM call time, made it there by quarter til', and went straight into hair and makeup. Today was supposed to be an easy day, the easiest she's had in weeks. She only had two scenes to film, then she'd be done. She knew her lines inside and out. She had the scene blocking down. All she needed to do was act, essentially. Luckily for her, that's what she did best.</p><p> </p><p>Or, at least, she used to.</p><p> </p><p>"Cut!" The director, Lucas Carr, shouted. "Luthor, I need more passion. You love him. You thought he was dead. At least pretend like you care. You sound like a robot. Let's go back to '<em>I'd never leave you.</em>'"</p><p> </p><p>If she was such a great actress and knew her lines like the back of her hand, why did she keep mixing up the name <em>Carter</em> with <em>Kara</em>?</p><p> </p><p>The movie she was filming was a heteronormative, barely diverse, misogynistic dumpster fire, also known as every Mark Wahlberg action film ever. Lena hated it, and Cat definitely did, but it was sure to win big. It was a broken system, the way films with actual meaning and good representation didn't get recognized or boosted enough to get nominated, but that's just the way things were. At the moment, not forever. Certainly not forever.</p><p> </p><p>Her character's name was Sage Patterson. Her general role in the movie was to be the "damsel in distress" girlfriend who didn't know when to stay in her lane. <em>How exciting.</em></p><p> </p><p>"Lena, you doing alright?" </p><p> </p><p>Lena gave Jack a half smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired, is all."</p><p> </p><p>Jack Spheer was an English actor whom Lena had met a few years back at an Emmy after party. Both their films were nominated in the same category that night and neither had won, so they bonded over the mutual feeling of a snubbed victory. They stayed in touch after the party, but never got the chance to work together until now. </p><p> </p><p>Jack gave her a wary look, but decided not to push any further. "Okay, well, you can tell me if something's up. I'll listen."</p><p> </p><p>"Thanks, Jack."</p><p> </p><p>They reshot the scene a couple more times before Snapper, as the media had dubbed him, was happy with the way it turned out. The second she was told she was good to go, Lena made a beeline for her trailer. If everything went according to schedule, she had about two hours before she had to get back on the soundstage for her final scene of the day. There was no use in leaving set for such a short break, so Lena opted to wait it out in the privacy of her own trailer.</p><p> </p><p>She punched in her code and made her way inside. It was nothing too fancy. There was a couch, a tv, and a mini fridge. All she really needed. They were only filming for three months, so Lena hadn't brought many of her personal belongings to stay in the trailer. Though, she would occasionally bring Merlot if he wasn't being too snappy in the morning. </p><p> </p><p>"How was work?"</p><p> </p><p>Lena jumped at the unexpected sound of another person in her trailer. Turning to her right, she saw Sam sitting on the couch, magazine in hand. She had the nerve to laugh at Lena getting spooked.</p><p> </p><p>"Christ, Sam, you almost gave me a heart attack." Lena could still feel her heart pumping rapidly in her chest. "How'd you even get in here?"</p><p> </p><p>Sam was also an actress. She was one of Cat's other clients, and they met at a party hosted by Cat a few weeks after Lena got signed six years ago. However, Sam was definitely <em>not</em> working on Lena's current movie. </p><p> </p><p>"Security recognized me so they didn't stop me when I pulled up to the lot."</p><p> </p><p>"But the code?" Each trailer had a six-digit, preprogrammed lock code to prevent random people from wandering in to them. </p><p> </p><p>"Jess let me in," she shrugged. Lena loved her P.A. to death, but sometimes she really got on her nerves. "Hey, have you seen this quiz <em>StarBeat</em> made on you? How do they know your middle name? That's creepy."</p><p> </p><p>Lena went over and snatched the magazine from Sam. "I'd be more surprised if they <em>didn't</em> know. Nothing's private nowadays," Lena commented, scoffing at answer C, Kieran. She did wonder how different news outlets managed to find out the smallest details about her life, considering she was a very private person. She rarely gave up personal information unless prompted, and even so, they were meaningless things like her favorite color.</p><p> </p><p>Tossing this month's issue of <em>StarBeat</em> onto the coffee table, Lena sat down on the couch next to Sam. She let out a sigh, snuggling up against her friend.</p><p> </p><p>"I still have one last scene to film before I can leave, but that's not for another couple hours. I kept messing up my lines for some reason."</p><p> </p><p>Sam gently carded her fingers though Lena's hair. "That doesn't sound like you. What's on your mind?"</p><p> </p><p>"I was trying to focus on the scene, but my mind kept going back to Kara," Lena huffed.</p><p> </p><p>"She still hasn't responded to your message?"</p><p> </p><p>"Not since I last checked earlier this morning."</p><p> </p><p>It had been nearly a day since Lena sent her message to Kara, which also meant nearly a day since Kara left her on read. </p><p> </p><p>"If she wanted to respond she would've done it by now," Lena stated dejectedly. </p><p> </p><p>Sam pushed herself up from the back of the couch, scooting to the edge of the seat. "Uh-uh, no. She probably forgot or got distracted. There's no way she wouldn't want to talk to you."</p><p> </p><p>"I don't know, Sam. Maybe I was a bit too forward? Should I have tried to stretch the conversation out more?" Lena asked.</p><p> </p><p>Sam smiled, a sympathetic look in her eyes. "Well, whatever it is, it's her loss. There's only one Lena Luthor."</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Lena was an hour into her break and 231 pages deep into <em>Islands of Mercy</em>. Sam was still sitting next to her, scrolling through what looked to be Twitter, if the light blue hue on her face was anything to go by. They'd dropped the conversation of Kara a while ago, opting instead to just enjoy each other's company in silence. Lena was in her own little world. She was practically in 19th century Bath, until Sam's voice broke her out of her peaceful state and back into modern day.</p><p> </p><p>"Lena, Lena, look at this!"</p><p> </p><p>Before Lena even got the chance to ask what "this" was, Sam had shoved her phone into her face. On the screen was a tweet with a screen-recorded video attached to it. </p><p> </p><p>"I got tagged in this. Look at it!" Sam told her, her tone laced with excitement.</p><p> </p><p>Lena took the phone from Sam's hand and stared at the paused video. Behind the transparent play button in the middle of the screen, she could see Kara sitting next to someone on a couch. Lena eyed Sam incredulously, Sam just tilting her head in a <em>go on</em> manner.</p><p> </p><p>Pressing play, Lena took note of a few things. The woman Kara was with wore a leather jacket, a white t-shirt underneath, paired with some dark wash ripped jeans. Lena could argue that she had just never outgrown her "grunge" phase from high school, but there was a certain confidence the woman exuded that made Lena believe she would actually kick her ass if she crossed her. She had auburn hair that was shaved on one side and cut into a slanted bob on the other. Lena also noted a shiny, silver wedding band on her ring finger.</p><p> </p><p><em>"No, guys, Kara doesn't just like these movies. She's </em>obsessed<em> with them. The first three movies were on repeat in our house as kids. She had posters, action figures, you name it. I think she actually cried when they announced </em>Jurassic World<em>."</em></p><p> </p><p>Lena smiled when Alex brought up <em>Jurassic World</em>. Those stunts had been a bitch to film, but she loved the final product.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Okay, that's enough of that. Let's go find another question, shall we? Ooh, what's my favorite color? My favorite color is ye-"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"And don't even get me started on her crush on Lena Luthor. If she didn't cry when they announced that movie, she definitely cried when they had Lena's character die."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>At the mention of her own name, Lena was taken aback. She glanced over at Sam who had the biggest shit-eating grin plastered across her face that Lena had ever seen.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I think they get it-" </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"We watched it in the movie theater together when it first came out, and when Lena was picked up into the air by that pterodactyl thing from hell, it was just the waterworks. She kept asking me, 'Why her? Why bring Lena on just to kill her?' It was hilarious."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Alex, enough-"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>And then the video cut off. </p><p> </p><p>"Kara has a crush on you!" Sam told her. "This is great!"</p><p> </p><p>Lena kept her eyes locked onto Sam's phone screen, which had now gone dark from not being used. Kara had a crush on <em>her</em>?</p><p> </p><p>"Lena?"</p><p> </p><p>"No, no, she doesn't," Lena sputtered. </p><p> </p><p>"Um, yes, she does. This Alex person literally said she did."</p><p> </p><p>Lena had to be logical. What are the odds that she drunkenly DM'd a woman who liked her? "I think Angelina Jolie is hot, but that doesn't mean I'd date her," Lena tried to reason. "It's just something people say. It's a celebrity crush."</p><p> </p><p>Sam cocked an eyebrow, a habit she picked up from Lena, "I don't know about you, but I don't get that flustered about people knowing my celebrity crush. Sounds like she really likes you, Lena. And this livestream was yesterday. This stuff is fresh."</p><p> </p><p>Lena thought about the situation. Sam was right, all signs did point to Kara liking her, even if it was just a little crush. Kara also called her beautiful, which seemed, under further contemplation, flirty rather than a girls-supporting-girls thing. Besides, if Kara didn't like her, what did she have to lose? </p><p> </p><p>In the back of her mind, Lena thought about Andrea, and how terrible she felt after being turned down. She willed herself to brush those thoughts away, though. That confession was built on years upon years of friendship. She didn't even know Kara existed until two days ago. </p><p> </p><p>Lena reached for her phone, winking at Sam. She opened Instagram and pulled up her thread with Kara. Much to her and Sam's surprise, she had new messages from the blonde.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Kara Danvers</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>Sorry it took me so long to reply. My friend and my sister came over and I had to livestream on my page. Life just gets in the way, you know?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Anyway, so what if I did like you Lena? A big ole celebrity like you </em>
  <em>wouldn't go out with someone like me :'-(</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"So, now we know I was right and she didn't ghost you," Sam smirked.</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, whatever."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Me</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>?Wanna bet</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Feeling a sudden burst of confidence, she added:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>?Have dinner with me on Friday</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Surprisingly, it didn't take but two minutes for Kara to respond. Lena opened the message eagerly, finding... a screenshot of their message thread?</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Kara Danvers</strong>
</p><p>ALEX OMG LOOK AT THIS</p><p> </p><p>Ahhh sorry! That was supposed to go to my sister. Forget I sent that!!</p><p> </p><p>Yeah, sure, I'd love to grab dinner ;)</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Lena couldn't help but to laugh at Kara's mishap. </p><p> </p><p>"Congrats, Lena," Sam patted her on the back. "You've got yourself a date with a dork."</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>we've made *progress* :))</p><p>thanks for reading! leave a comment if you'd like. they really make my day :)</p><p>(also thanks for 500 kudos!)</p><p> </p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>*the date*</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>sorry it took me a few days to get this chapter out. i wanted it to be longer so i could fit everything in :)</p><p>note: there may be some things in this chapter that don't necessarily match up with the canon timeline (or a real life timeline). i had to make things fit my narrative lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>The rest of the week came and went faster now that Kara and Lena had something to look forward to. Lena spent nearly every waking hour on set. It was crunch time now. The last week of filming was coming up, then there would be at least a month break before the press tour started.</p><p> </p><p>It was nearing six in the evening when Lena made it home on Friday. She scrambled into her penthouse after work. Dropping her bag and coat by the door, she kicked off her shoes and went straight into her bedroom and to her closet. She and Sam had already picked out her outfit the night before so she wouldn't have to stress over it an hour before she had to meet Kara.</p><p> </p><p>The clothes she picked were nothing too fancy; they were only going to dinner, after all. A navy blue blouse with quarter length sleeves and a neckline <em>just</em> low enough to still be considered decent. That was paired with plain, black jeans.</p><p> </p><p>When faced with the decision to wear heels or flats, Lena took to Google. Kara Danvers wasn't a nobody. She had a moderately sized following and a sturdy fanbase, there had to be something online about her height. </p><p> </p><p>Upon searching up her name, Lena found that Kara had her own Wikipedia profile on the main Google page.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Kara Zorel Danvers is an American singer and social media personality. She is best known for posting videos of herself singing and playing covers of popular songs on the app Instagram.</em>
</p><p><strong> <em>Born</em></strong> <em>: September 22, 1991 (age 27 years), Argo City, CA</em></p><p>
  <em><strong>Height</strong>: 5'8''</em>
</p><p>
  <em><strong>Siblings</strong>: Alex Danvers</em>
</p><p>
  <em><strong>Parents</strong>: Eliza Danvers, Jeremiah Danvers</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u"> <strong> <em>People also ask</em> </strong> </span>
</p><p>
  <em>Is <strong>Kara Danvers</strong> adopted?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Is <strong>Kara Danvers</strong> single?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Who are <strong>Kara Danvers</strong>'s real parents?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>How many instruments can <strong>Kara Danvers</strong>play?</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Kara was adopted? Huh.</p><p> </p><p>Lena wasn't sure why that piece of information surprised her so much. She was adopted, herself. It was always interesting to meet someone else with similar life experiences, though.</p><p> </p><p>Deciding not to click any further to respect Kara's privacy, Lena noted her height and closed the tab off of her phone. Heels. She'd go with heels.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>"Are you excited for your date?"</p><p> </p><p>Lena giggled at the goofy grin on Sam's face. Anyone who didn't have context would think she was the one who had a date that night. "I am."</p><p> </p><p>She got dressed fairly fast and threw on some light makeup - with the exception of a slight smokey eye to give her an "enigmatic touch," as Sam put it. Then she had to flat-iron her hair. Her hair stylist put her in two Dutch braids today, so her hair still had some waviness to it, mixed with its natural frizz from washing it in the shower. </p><p> </p><p>"I'm sort of nervous, to be honest."</p><p> </p><p>Sam's eyes widened on the other side of the phone. "Lena Luthor is nervous? Hell must've frozen over."</p><p> </p><p>"What if she doesn't like me?" Lena expressed, choosing to ignore Sam's joke.</p><p> </p><p>"She'd be an idiot not to," Sam told her. "Don't worry about the what-ifs. Just go out there and be yourself. This isn't a PR interview. There's no need to put up a front, okay?"</p><p> </p><p>Smiling, Lena agreed with Sam. Being herself. She could do that.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>She could <em>not</em> do that.</p><p> </p><p>"Lucy, there is no way in hell I'm wearing that on my date!" </p><p> </p><p>"Why not? I'm sure Luthor will love it."</p><p> </p><p>Kara inhaled sharply, trying to keep her annoyance at bay. Lucy was really pushing her buttons at the moment. She took in the lacy, black lingerie set Lucy was holding up. Up until now, Kara had honestly forgotten that she owned that. It was a gag gift Lucy (of course) gave her for her birthday last year. With no one to wear it for, Kara shoved it way back into her closet and hadn't thought about since.</p><p> </p><p>"We are getting dinner to try to get to know each other better," Kara explained. "I'm not going to be stripping tonight for any reason unless my clothes catch on fire." She took the garment from Lucy's hand and went to her closet to throw it back in. </p><p> </p><p>"You won't have any clothes to catch on fire if you don't pick out any," Lucy deadpanned, walking over to join Kara by the closet. "You wanna look like a prude and wear your granny panties, there's no shame in that. But you gotta pick out something to wear over them."</p><p> </p><p>Lucy sifted through Kara's color coordinated rack of dress shirts, humming higher tones at ones she liked and lower tones at ones she didn't.</p><p> </p><p>"Where are you guys going?"</p><p> </p><p>"Some fancy place called Capo. I think it's Italian."</p><p> </p><p>"Okay," Lucy drew out the word as she slid all of Kara's white button ups further down the rack.</p><p> </p><p>Though she loved to just throw on a t-shirt and jeans, Kara was known for her button up game. She had at least two in every color of the rainbow, quite a few with short-sleeves to wear in the summer, and ones with fun prints on them. Her personal favorite was a yellow number with little dinosaurs scattered all over it. </p><p> </p><p>"We have to go with classic Kara Danvers, which means blue is the way to go. Here." Lucy pulled out a light blue button up with vertical, white stripes. "And now for the pants." She moved over to the dresser drawer that housed Kara's bottoms. Picking through them for a moment, Lucy finally settled on a pair of fitted maroon slacks. "There, go put this on."</p><p> </p><p>Kara stared down at the clothes in Lucy had placed in her hands. She had to admit, the outfit wasn't half bad.</p><p> </p><p>"Thanks, Luce," Kara grinned, heading for the bathroom.</p><p> </p><p>"No need to thank me. I'm a miracle worker, I know," Lucy gloated. "Now, hurry up. You can't be late!"</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>As Kara stepped out of the car, she took in her surroundings. Capo had mostly outdoor patio seating, with only a few choosing to dine inside. They weren't particularly full, but there was still a good amount of people there already seated. It certainly wasn't Kara's scene, having preferred to order in from Wang Foo's, but she'd give it a shot if it meant having a nice dinner with Lena Luthor.</p><p> </p><p>After calling a quick thanks to Lucy for driving her, Kara shut the car door and made her way across the street and up to the maître d' who was stationed at a podium outside of the restaurant. She was a middle-aged woman dressed in a white blouse with a black blazer over thrown over top. </p><p> </p><p>"Good evening," she greeted with a smile. "Can you give me the name of the reservation?"</p><p> </p><p>"Um, yeah, it's Luthor, I believe. I'm meeting Lena Luthor."</p><p> </p><p>A flash of recognition crossed the woman's eyes. She glanced down at the papers on her podium - a seating chart and a list of reservation names - then looked back up at Kara.</p><p> </p><p>"Are you Miss Kara Danvers?"</p><p> </p><p>"Yep, that's me," Kara smiled brightly.</p><p> </p><p>The maître d' held out her hand to Kara. "I'm going to need to see some identification," and when she noticed Kara's eyebrows furrow with confusion, she added, "For security purposes."</p><p> </p><p>Okay, that was understandable. Lena could probably be classified as an B-list celebrity, there was no doubt in Kara's mind that she had run into some problems with crazed "fans" before. Kara wouldn't be shocked if she had her own personal security crew with her at the moment. </p><p> </p><p>She reached into her purse and pulled out her cellphone. Alex had told her multiple times to not use the wallet phone cases - <em>"What if you lose your phone? Now you've lost your license and all your money, too"</em> - but Kara didn't pay her any mind. They were efficient. She slid the back of the case open it revealed a small compartment that held her driver's license and credit card. The woman spent a few seconds inspecting Kara's ID, then gave it back to her. </p><p> </p><p>"Welcome to Capo, Miss Danvers. If you'll follow me, I'll lead you to Miss Luthor's table."</p><p> </p><p>Following the woman onto the outdoor patio, Kara marveled at the fanciness, for lack of a better term, of it all. She'd been to high end restaurants before as a kid when Eliza made her and Alex come along to her work dinners, but Kara hadn't been to one since high school. She forgot how elegant the environment was.</p><p> </p><p>Kara walked a pace behind the woman as she lead her around a corner to a more private section of the patio. It was guarded off from the rest of the guests by a velvet rope. There was only one table behind the rope, and sitting at said table was none other than Lena Luthor. </p><p> </p><p>A smile that went all the way up to her eyes made its way across Kara's face. The maître d' unclasped the rope and let her go in. </p><p> </p><p>"Have a nice dinner," she called before leaving them alone, but Kara barely heard her words. She was focused on the sight in front of her.</p><p> </p><p>Lena stood up from her seat, waving Kara over. It took her a moment, but Kara finally shook herself out the trance she was in and walked the short distance to the table.</p><p> </p><p>"Thank you for agreeing to have dinner with me," Lena said as she held out her hand for Kara to shake. </p><p> </p><p>"How could I say no?" Kara chuckled. Lena's hand was soft but cold in her own, which was a sharp contrast to the warm air around them caused by outdoor heaters built into the awning above their heads. Realizing she might've been holding on a little too long, Kara let go of Lena's hand. "Um, shall we sit?"</p><p> </p><p>"Yes, of course," Lena nodded, going to sit back down. "I already ordered some drinks, by the way. I hope you like chardonnay." Lena motioned to the full wine glasses and an already opened bottle sitting on the table.</p><p> </p><p>"Chardonnay is great, thank you."</p><p> </p><p>An awkward silence settled over them. Kara looked down at her hands in her lap, fiddling with her fingers. She needed to say something to fill the emptiness around them. Having not gone on a date in over two years, Kara came up short on any ice breakers she could ask. </p><p> </p><p>"So maybe we could start with saying a few things about ourselves?" Lena asked and it sounded somewhat timid. "Sorry if this is weird. I haven't done this in awhile."</p><p> </p><p>Rushing to ease Lena's worries, Kara quickly spoke up. "No, no, you're okay. I'll go first." Kara racked her brain for a moment, trying to come up with some good things to tell Lena. "Hm, okay, I'm a Hufflepuff, my favorite food is potstickers, and I love musicals."</p><p> </p><p>At the sound of Lena's stifled laughter, Kara tilted her head, unintentionally mimicking the look up a confused puppy. That only made Lena laugh more.</p><p> </p><p>"What's so funny?" Kara asked, completely genuine.</p><p> </p><p>"Nothing, it's just-" Lena started once her laughter died down. "I was expecting something more like your age or where you were from."</p><p> </p><p>"Compared to those things, the fact that I'm twenty-seven and from Midvale don't matter."</p><p> </p><p>"Midvale, huh? So you're Cali, born and raised," Lena mused, bringing her glass up to her lips.</p><p> </p><p>"You're not?" Kara questioned, going in for a sip from her own glass.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm from Ireland, actually."</p><p> </p><p>"That's not on Google," Kara mentioned, a hint of surprise in her voice. "But at least now I know I'm not imagining the slight accent in your voice."</p><p> </p><p>Lena's smirk could be seen from behind the rim of her wine glass. "So you looked me up?"</p><p> </p><p>"Hey, you looked me up first. How'd you find my Instagram page?"</p><p> </p><p>It was Kara's turn to act smug as Lena's smirk fell into a blushing smile. "Touché, Kara Danvers. But, yes, I was born in Ireland. I lived there until I was four, then I moved to the States."</p><p> </p><p>Lena decided against going further into the story about why she had to move to America. It was only their first date, she couldn't scare Kara away with her dark family drama before they even got the chance to eat dinner together. </p><p> </p><p>After a couple minutes of them talking about what lead them to get into their respective careers, a waiter came around. He placed a dish of ice and a plate with thin blini crackers in front of them. Inside of the ice bowl was a small jar filled with tiny dark.. What were those? Spheres?</p><p> </p><p>"I'm sorry, we didn't order this," Kara tried to protest, but Lena stopped her. </p><p> </p><p>"No, Kara, it's fine," Lena interjected, throwing a quick smile at the waiter. "This is our hors d'oeuvre. It's Italian white sturgeon caviar."</p><p> </p><p>Kara's mouth formed an "o" shape when she understood what was going on. "Oh, okay. I'm sorry about that."</p><p> </p><p>"No worries," the waiter dismissed. "It should hold you over until your main courses are served. Speaking of, are you ladies ready to order, or do you need a few more minutes?"</p><p> </p><p>"Gosh, I haven't even looked at the menu," Kara realized, hastily trying to sweep through the folded pamphlet. "What do you usually get?" She asked Lena.</p><p> </p><p>"The lobster risotto is to die for." Lena handed her menu off to the waiter having settled on her meal.</p><p> </p><p>Kara hummed in response. "I think I'll get that, too." After folding the menu back up to its original form, she gave it to the waiter. </p><p> </p><p>"That'll be right out."</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>"You're kidding, right? Like, you have to be joking," Lena said incredulously. </p><p> </p><p>"I wish I could say I was," Kara replied, poking her fork into a piece of her chocolate soufflé.</p><p> </p><p>Both Lena and Kara's demeanors had become more relaxed after they received their food. Though the talking had died down a bit as they ate, they still got to learn more about each other through funny stories about themselves they'd decided to tell. Like Lena, for instance, got an undercut from her second-year roommate at Mt. Helena.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"She shaved it in the bathroom, and all the other girls from our dorm building came and watched. Veronica was like the go-to when it came to anything hair related."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"What did your professors think?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Any type of shaved or unnaturally died hair was prohibited there, so I always went to class with my hair down."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"But when you got back to your room?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I immediately put it in a bun."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"What happened exactly?" Lena asked, a slightly buzzed grin on her face.</p><p> </p><p>Kara sighed, dropping her fork. "Alex and I were home alone because both Jeremiah and Eliza had to work late that night. When we were home alone, we used to just keep to ourselves, or watch a movie, or whatever. But for some reason that day Alex said she wanted to go out on the roof."</p><p> </p><p>"Going onto the roof was just a normal thing for you two?" Lena questioned with a laugh.</p><p> </p><p>Kara laughed as well, nodding her head. "We usually did it at night to look at the stars, but we did it in the day sometimes, too. Anyway, we climb up on the roof and just sit there for awhile watching the waves crash onto beach, like always. So, Alex stands up, walks towards the edge of the roof, and just stares at the ground for a minute. I'm just sitting there watching her thinking, "Is she about to jump off, or something?" Then, she turned towards me and told me she'd bet if I jumped off of the roof, I would be able to dunk myself through our basketball hoop we had in the driveway."</p><p> </p><p>"Don't tell me you thought you could do it, too."</p><p> </p><p>Kara gave Lena a pointed stare. "There wouldn't be a story if I didn't believe it."</p><p> </p><p>"Kara!" Lena exclaimed, playfully smacking Kara's hand that rested on the table. "You were fourteen."</p><p> </p><p>"Fourteen and naive enough to trust in anything my big sister said," Kara deadpanned. "Long story short, I jumped off the roof, completely missed the net, and broke my ankle. Jeremiah and Eliza were pissed, and Eliza didn't allow us to stay home alone again. She hired a babysitter for a freshman and a junior in high school. It was humiliating."</p><p> </p><p>As Lena threw her head back in laughter, Kara just beamed as she watched her. She could already tell that she was falling for the actress. <em>Hard</em>.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>When they finished up dessert and Lena paid for their meals with a promise that she'd let Kara pay next time, (because there <em>was</em> going to be a next time) the pair scrambled into the backseat of Lena's black Rolls Royce.</p><p> </p><p>"Where do you live?" Lena asked.</p><p> </p><p>"I rent a place on Hope Street," Kara said, and the casualness in her tone despite the nerves running through her is a shock in and of itself.</p><p> </p><p>Kara gave Lena's driver, Hector, her full address and they made their way to Kara's apartment to drop her off. </p><p> </p><p>After a half-hour drive full of tipsy 20 Questions and Kara singing along to any song that popped up on the radio, Hector pulled up to Kara's building. Lena offered to walk Kara up to her apartment, so the two of them made their way into the lobby and then into the elevator. They stood in a comfortable silence on opposite sides of the elevator. They were both facing the the doors, but Lena could've sworn she saw Kara staring at her out of the corner of her eye. She blushed at the thought of having Kara's attention. </p><p> </p><p>Lena's hand felt secure in Kara's as the blonde lead her down the hallway and towards her apartment. When they met Kara's door, Kara turned to look at her.</p><p> </p><p>"Thank you for tonight. I had a really nice time."</p><p> </p><p>Lena's head nodded slightly in lieu of a response. Maybe if she hadn't been so focused on the deep blue of Kara's eyes, she would've noticed that their fingers were still interlocked. Her gazed flitted from Kara's eyes, down to her lips, and back up again. The air felt thicker as Kara gently leaned forward, her free hand gently reaching out to rest on Lena's waist. The contact sent electric sparks all throughout Lena's body. Before she could take control of herself, Lena felt herself begin to lean in, ready to meet Kara in the middle. Inches separated them. Lena could almost taste the cherry of Kara's chapstick, and then...</p><p> </p><p>Kara jumped back abruptly, knocking Lena out of her lustful state. Her hand and the spot on hip now felt a sudden chill in Kara's absence. </p><p> </p><p>Kara reached back into the back pocket of her slacks and whipped out her phone. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Oh.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Lena heard it now. The melodic chime that was Kara's ringtone. Kara didn't kiss her because her phone had started ringing. She internally sighed in relief.</p><p> </p><p>Kara met her gaze again, the sparkle in her eyes now replaced with a darkened, dull glaze. "I'm sorry, it's my sister-in-law. It could be important."</p><p> </p><p>Lena brushed it off with a wave of her hand. "No need to apologize." She began to slowly back away from Kara. "I'll text you tomorrow, yeah?"</p><p> </p><p>The smile Kara gave her looked somewhat relieved, so Lena took that as a win. "Yes, definitely. Thank you, again."</p><p> </p><p>Giving her one last nod, Lena turned and made her way down the hall and towards the elevator.</p><p> </p><p>Kara broke her eyes away from Lena's retreating form, managing to answer the call on the last ring.<br/><br/><br/></p><p>"Kelly, what's going on?"</p><p> </p><p>Forgoing any type of greeting, Kelly went straight to the point. "We're on our way to the hospital right now. It's Jay."</p><p> </p><p>Kara's heart sunk to her stomach. </p><p> </p><p>"I'm on my way."</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thanks for reading! i hope you liked it :)</p><p>note: i know there's a bit of a debate on whether kara is a Hufflepuff or a Gryffindor, but i decided to just make her a Hufflepuff. i get to decide what happens here ;)</p><p>random question: has anyone written the supercorp Tangled au yet?? they would fit that story perfectly. the fun part about it is i can see kara as both Rapunzel and Flynn and then the same same with lena. like they both could be either character in that lol</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>what ever happened to jay danvers? (lol sorry)</p><p>hospital timez, alex gets reassurance from both kara and lena, and then lena has a few realizations :)</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>just a reminder that this story doesn't have an accurate timeline<br/>a princess for christmas came out in 2011, but lena's only been acting for six years in this. that would add up to the year being 2017, but im not paying attention to that. you all probably don't even care about this but im a person who likes to fact-check everything to make sure it's correct so i just wanted to say something lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Their date had gone well. Better than well, great, even. It left Kara genuinely shocked how easy it was to keep a conversation with Lena. They came from different worlds. Different upbringings, careers, lifestyles, but they somehow clicked. It was like finally finding the key that fit into the lock. Opposites truly did attract.</p><p> </p><p>There was something about Lena that had Kara drawn to her. It was no secret that Lena had natural beauty. When she first saw Lena in <em>A Princess for Christmas </em>a few years ago, she couldn't help but to be attracted to her. That attraction only intensified over the years as Lena took part in bigger movies with more leading roles. There was something about actually meeting her and talking with her that made Kara's heart race. She already knew Lena was incredibly talented, but she was so much more than just her movies. Her personality and her sense of humor and her mind in general. All of those attributes made her that much more beautiful.</p><p> </p><p>It wasn't necessarily Kara's intention to try and kiss Lena. Of course she wanted to, but she didn't want to come on too strong, either. Seeing Lena standing in front of her, the dim, yellowish lighting of the hallway casting a golden glow across her features, Kara couldn't help herself. Before she even knew what she was doing, she was already leaning in. Where she had gotten so bold, she didn't know. But what she did know was that the boldness paid off because Lena didn't back up, or push her away. Lena leaned in, too.</p><p> </p><p>Then her phone rang, and she had to chase after Lena to ask if Hector could drop her off at the hospital. She'd only had two glasses of wine, but she was a lightweight and already tipsy so driving herself there was out of the question. She explained the situation to Lena who immediately agreed to let her use her driver.</p><p> </p><p>Her night was going so well, and then this happens. Just her luck. </p><p> </p><p>When she was a kid, Kara thought she was actually cursed. Whenever something good would happen for her, bad things would happen to those around her. Like when her parents died. Kara had been the eighth grader chosen to win the Young Scholars award at her school. The Young Scholars award was a certificate given to a student who excelled in academics and showed a great deal of kindness and respect to others at school. Only one person got picked per grade level, and the eighth grade award went to Kara. </p><p> </p><p>A week later, her parents died because of an electrical fire caused by faulty wiring. It happened in the middle of the night, so everyone was asleep. One minute she was sleeping peacefully in her bed, and the next, she's lying in the back of an ambulance as her house burned to the ground. </p><p> </p><p>With Kenny Li, her first real crush, it was finally getting a leading role in the school musical. With Jeremiah, it was graduating high school. </p><p> </p><p>As Kara got older, and with extensive amounts of therapy, she realized she wasn't cursed. She wasn't at fault for any of the death around her. It all came down to circumstance, really. </p><p> </p><p>Kara was playing with the thought that the curse was actually real on the ride to the hospital. She has a nice date for the first time in years and then her nephew ends up in the hospital. Six-month-olds don't even do anything besides sleep and eat, what other possibility could there be besides a curse?</p><p> </p><p>"Alex!" Kara called when she spotted her in the emergency room waiting area. Alex looked up at the sound of her name, then walked over and wrapped her arms around her sister. They stayed like that for a moment, Alex's face burrowed into Kara's neck and Kara rubbing a soothing hand across the surface of Alex's back. </p><p> </p><p>At the sound of muffled sobs, Kara's heart shattered. "It's okay," she cooed. "I got you."</p><p> </p><p>When Alex pulled back from their embrace, her face was puffy and red, her eyes glassy. She let in a shaky breath, wiping fallen tears from off her cheeks with the sleeve of her jacket. "I'm sorry," she sniffed.</p><p> </p><p>"Hey, no, don't say that. It's okay." Kara grabbed Alex's hand and lead her over to a more secluded part of the waiting area so they weren't standing in the middle of the room. "What happened? Is Jay alright?"</p><p> </p><p>"They think he had an allergic reaction to something in the new baby food we gave him. We don't know to what, though."</p><p> </p><p>Kara let out breath of relief. An allergic reaction was infinitely better than the curse. </p><p> </p><p>"Where is he now?" Kara looked around the waiting area. It was nearly empty, despite it being a Friday night. That's usually when the college kids from NCU got into some mischief. </p><p> </p><p>"He's getting some tests done to try and pinpoint what caused the reaction. They were only allowing one of us back there with him," Alex explained. She let her head drop, shoving her hands into her pockets as she stared at the floor. She scuffed her shoe at a crack in the linoleum.</p><p> </p><p>Sensing her sister wasn't telling her everything, Kara placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong?"</p><p> </p><p>"I feel like such a bad mom," Alex admitted. "I should've known something was wrong when he wouldn't stop crying. I just thought he was tired, so I put him down."</p><p> </p><p>"Alex, look at me." </p><p> </p><p>Alex lifted her head up, barely meeting Kara's gaze.</p><p> </p><p>Kara gave her a sympathetic smile. "You couldn't have known. It was an accident, okay? That doesn't make you a bad mother. If anything, you driving all the way out here at ten at night makes you a good one."</p><p> </p><p>Alex shook her head. "I did what every mom would have. I freaked out, panicked. I may have even overreacted with calling you out here."</p><p> </p><p>"There's no such thing as overreacting when it comes to your kid, Alex." Kara gave Alex's shoulder a reassuring squeeze before dropping her hand. "And besides, Lena was just about to head home."</p><p> </p><p>A look of confusion flashed across Alex's face, then realization settled in. "You had your date with Lena tonight, didn't you?" Alex asked, guilt building up in her tone. "God, I'm sorry, Kara. I didn't mean to pull you away from that."</p><p> </p><p>"It's fine. I told you that the night was over, anyway."</p><p> </p><p>Alex was about to speak up again, probably another apology, when her attention drifted to something behind Kara. Noticing her sister's eyesight shift, Kara turned around, following her gaze, "What are you looking... <em>Lena</em>?"</p><p> </p><p>Lena passed by the check-in desk and walked towards them. She was still in her clothes from the date, but there was a blazer thrice her size thrown over her shoulders. Probably Hector's. Speaking of, Hector, who Kara now realized had to be at least six-foot-three and teetering the edge of 250 from sheer muscle mass, walked a few paces behind her. Did this guy work as an NFL linebacker on the side? He was huge.</p><p> </p><p>"Lena, what are you doing here?" Kara asked once she broke her eyes away from Hector's bulky form. "I said you could head home."</p><p> </p><p>"I know you did, but I had Hector park the car so we could come inside. I wanted to check and see if your nephew was alright," Lena told her. Without waiting for Kara to respond, she held her hand out to an equally as dumbfounded Alex. "Hi, I'm Lena. It's nice to meet you, though I wish it was under better circumstances."</p><p> </p><p>"Um, yeah, nice to meet you, too," Alex shook her hand. "I'm Alex, Kara's sister."</p><p> </p><p>Lena gave a curt nod, then turned to whisper something to Hector that was unintelligible to Kara and Alex. Whatever she said, Hector nodded his head at it, then left them alone. </p><p> </p><p>"Sorry about him. He refused to let me in the building by myself so late at night. He's a tad overprotective," Lena explained with a slight eye roll. "How's your son?"</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, he's with my wife right now getting some tests done. He broke out into hives, so we freaked out and drove here. Apparently it was an allergic reaction." </p><p> </p><p>"Poor thing," Lena mused sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear that."</p><p> </p><p>Alex waved her hand in an attempt to brush off her consolation. "Thank you, but I should really be apologizing to you two."</p><p> </p><p>Kara sighed from next to Alex. "I thought we went over this," she grumbled. </p><p> </p><p>Lena furrowed her brows. It was clear something had transpired between the sisters while she and Hector were parking the car. Though relatively no one was there, Lena insisted that he park her car in the most secluded area of the parking garage he could find. While she could get it buffed, Lena really didn't feel like getting her car dinged up by a person swinging recklessly into the spot next to her. </p><p> </p><p>"I feel like I'm missing something," Lena voiced. "Why are you apologizing?" She asked Alex.</p><p> </p><p>"I interrupted your date." she said, beginning to sound like a broken record to Kara. Alex resembled that of a kicked puppy and Lena could feel the guilt radiating off of her. Lena was stunned by the amount of thoughtfulness the elder Danvers seemed to possess. Her infant son was in the hospital, albeit not for matters too pressing, but she still had enough in her to worry about cutting in on her little sister's date. </p><p> </p><p>The idea of Lex having even an ounce of Alex's consideration was laughable and that made Lena's heart ache for the sibling she could've had.</p><p> </p><p>"Alex, don't be ridiculous. You were taking your baby to the hospital. You were scared. It's perfectly alright for you to want to call your sister," Lena reasoned, and while she believed in everything she was telling Alex, they couldn't have called Kara at a worser time. Did that make her sound like an asshole? Wishing that Alex's wife could've waited a measly two more seconds to call about driving their son to the hospital so she could at least feel Kara's lips against hers, even for just an instant?</p><p> </p><p>Yep, definitely a grade A asshole.</p><p> </p><p>(But she and Kara were <em>so</em> close!)</p><p> </p><p>"You really mean that?" Alex asked after a moment's contemplation. Lena nodded her response, and Alex exhaled deeply through her nose. "It's just that Kara and I are really close and I tell her everything, so it just came naturally to me to ask Kelly to call her. And in the heat of everything, it didn't even cross my mind that she was out with you tonight and-" Catching onto the fact that she was rambling, Alex took a second to collect her thoughts. "I guess I'm just trying to say thank you. For being understanding, I mean."</p><p> </p><p> It could've been the lingering fear from having to rush her kid to hospital clouding up Alex's mind, but the way she was so sincere in thanking her threw Lena off. Who <em>wouldn't</em> understand?</p><p> </p><p>Lena stored the thought in one of her itty-bitty boxes to fully digest later so she could speak up and stop Alex from having a stroke over everything. (Though, if she was going to have a stroke, the best place would be in an ER waiting room.)</p><p> </p><p>"Of course. There's no need to thank me," Lena smiled warmly. Alex managed a small upturn of her lips, and it was only then that Lena noticed the mega-watt grin blazing across Kara's face. The sight made her heart clench, the butterflies she'd had a tight leash on the entire evening now breaking free and erupting throughout her stomach. </p><p> </p><p>"What's that smile," Alex, who seemingly also noticed Kara's expression, teased.</p><p> </p><p>"I just find it funny how Lena said literally the same things I said to you, but <em>she</em> was the one who managed to talk you down. It's like she has magical calming powers," Kara said. Unlike her eyes after their near-kiss, her smile never dulled.</p><p> </p><p>"Didn't you see me in <em>Merlin</em>," Lena quipped, making both sisters laugh. Feeling satisfied with herself for lightening the mood, knew she had to make her inevitable departure. It was almost eleven and she still needed to call Sam and tell her about the date once she got back to her penthouse. "Well, I think I should head on home."</p><p> </p><p>"Oh yeah, totally. I didn't mean to keep you and Hector out this late," Kara replied.</p><p> </p><p>"It's fine, truly. I was the one who decided to stay and come in here, anyway," Lena brushed it off. </p><p> </p><p>Then came the goodbye, which Lena was not prepared for whatsoever. She and Kara first greeted each other with a handshake. One could never go wrong with a handshake. That gesture didn't seem the most appropriate now, though. They bonded over dinner, got to know each other. All in all, if the romantic vibe of the date fell through, Lena would've settled to call Kara a friend. Lena didn't have many close friends besides Sam, but she knew enough that hugging before going separate ways was the social norm. </p><p> </p><p>Taking a second to think everything through, Lena realized a few things. One, Kara had been crushing on her for at least a few years now. Two, she discovered who Kara was just last week, but was instantly smitten. Three, they'd only met today. And then four, less than an hour ago they were inches away from kissing. So while they were friendly towards one another, they certainly weren't <em>just</em> <em>friends.</em></p><p> </p><p>How do you bid farewell to your non-just-friend? </p><p> </p><p>Kara saved Lena from her internal conflict by crossing the short distance between them, wrapping her arms around Lena's smaller frame. Lena felt herself melt completely against Kara instantaneously, the question of what they were forgotten for the time being. Hugging Kara was a new, but welcome experience. When they shook hands earlier, Lena immediately noted the warmth radiating off of it. Then again when Kara lead her down the hallway towards her apartment, and again when she placed her hand on her waist.</p><p> </p><p>Kara's hugs? They were that tenfold. Lena felt as if her whole body was enveloped in heat and comfort. She was standing in a hospital, one of the most safest places in the world to be, but she felt most secure in Kara's arms - and that was a terrifyingly amazing realization.  </p><p> </p><p>"We still on for brunch Sunday?" Kara questioned, her voice slightly muffled from her chin resting on Lena's shoulder. </p><p> </p><p>Lena nodded into the crook of Kara's neck. Giving Lena one last squeeze, Kara let her go. Lena fought against the urge to pull her back in, missing the security.</p><p> </p><p>"Perfect timing," Alex sounded, gesturing somewhere behind Lena with a flick of her head, "looks like your buddy's back."</p><p> </p><p>Turning, Lena saw Hector, now with a coffee in his hands. She'd told him to give her and the sisters a bit of privacy and apparently that was the cue for him to head to the cafeteria. </p><p> </p><p>"It was lovely meeting you," Lena told Alex, bringing her attention back to them once more. </p><p> </p><p>"Likewise."</p><p> </p><p>After giving Kara one last glance, paired with a smile, Lena made her way over to Hector, linking her arm around his when he offered. The entire drive home, Lena kept wondering how she'd let herself fall for Kara so easily. </p><p> </p><p>Because she was definitely past the point of no return.  </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>um miss taylor swift dropped ANOTHER new album so go stream 'evermore' because a few of the songs are literally made for sc. and the fic titles i can make from the song lyrics, my god. </p><p>anyways, thanks for reading! comment if ya want to :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>a FaceTime call, some flirty texting, studio sessions, and then some more flirty texting (because im unoriginal) :)</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i'm with y'all. i want them to kiss too. maybe our wishes will be granted soon? who knows ;)</p><p>in other news, i had to look up guitar chords for this chapter so if anything looks weird to you musically inclined peeps it's because i don't know how to play guitar lol. i play cello and bass guitar, so i rarely look at chords, especially in treble clef.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Why the hell did you not call me last night?"</p><p> </p><p>Lena winced at the scold. She was supposed to call and tell Sam all about her date with Kara the night before, but by the time Hector dropped her off at home, she was beat. She barely even made it through a shower, not that the hot water helped in keeping her awake.</p><p> </p><p>It was Saturday morning now. Lena pulled back her blackout curtains, letting the bright rays of the morning sun shine throughout her penthouse. Dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a loose t-shirt, Lena brewed herself a cup of coffee and chopped up a few fruits for a breakfast platter. With the plate of food and her coffee in had, Lena made her way to her couch where Merlot was currently curled up on. She set her plate and mug down on the coffee table and whipped out her phone to finally call Sam.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Lena said. "I was exhausted when I got home."</p><p> </p><p>Sam cocked and eyebrow, a smirk making its way across her face. "Oh, did the blue-eyed dreamboat wear you out?"</p><p> </p><p>Lena rolled her eyes at her friend's teasing, absentmindedly running her hand down Merlot's soft coat. "No, Sam get your head out of the gutter. I was tired from the hospital trip."</p><p> </p><p>"Wait, what? Hospital? Lena, are you okay?" Sam asked worriedly.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Definitely could've worded that differently.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Yes, I'm fine," Lean rushed to ease Sam's worries. "I was at the hospital because Kara's nephew had an allergic reaction. I wanted to check on him."</p><p> </p><p>"You should've led with that," Sam said, relief painted in her tone. "No hate to the little dude, though. He's okay, right?"</p><p> </p><p>"Jay's fine. Kara's sister-in-law called her and then we met them at the hospital," Lena explained. She shifted on her couch, bringing her legs to rest underneath her. Her movement must've disturbed Merlot's relaxed state, as he let out a hissing noise and jumped onto the floor, heading for his cat post. "Though, the timing of the call was rather... inconvenient."</p><p> </p><p>"Inconvenient?" Sam repeated, puzzled. "What do you mean? Were you guys in the middle of your date?"</p><p> </p><p>"Something like that," Lena confirmed.</p><p> </p><p>"Will you stop talking in riddles and tell me what the fuck you two were doing that made getting a call about a baby being in the hospital inconvenient?"</p><p> </p><p>Sam was always liked to get straight to the point when it came to Lena's love life. No cutting corners, no half-assed explanations. She wanted everything in complete detail, and she wanted it yesterday. </p><p> </p><p>"We almost kissed."</p><p> </p><p>"How do you almost kiss someone?"</p><p> </p><p>Lena sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. It truly wasn't a hard question to answer. They were both leaning in and then they got interrupted. Plain and simple. The inexorable follow up questions were where Lena would get tripped up. Sam would no doubt ask scene-setting questions like how it happened, where, who initiated it, and so on. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>How?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>She didn't know.</p><p> </p><p>Kara placed her hand on her waist as Lena stared deeply into Kara's eyes. Kara leant forward, and Lena found herself following the action.</p><p> </p><p>Lena was <em>crushed</em> when Andrea turned her down. The confidence she'd gained disappeared, so she put up a wall. She guarded herself with armor as she tried to protect herself from being hurt again. She didn't date anyone else, didn't even talk to another woman for an entire year until Kara swooped in. Every smile chipped at Lena's armor a little more. Her infectious laughter knocked down the wall she built like it was made of sand. It crumbled without Lena's control. She let herself fall for Kara so easily, for what? For all she knew, Kara could be like a passing fad; there one day, gone the next. </p><p> </p><p>She hoped that wasn't the case.</p><p> </p><p>"We were... we got interrupted by the phone call. Before we could actually kiss," Lena answered finally.</p><p> </p><p>"Well that's a bummer."</p><p> </p><p>Lena snorted, "Way to state the obvious."</p><p> </p><p>Giving Lena a soft look, Sam continued, "What was going on beforehand? Who did what?"</p><p> </p><p>There were those inexorable follow up questions Lena just knew were coming.</p><p> </p><p>Before she got the chance to stammer through an answer, her phone vibrated with a notification. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Kara</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>Goooood morninggg!!! &lt;3 &lt;3</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The message instantly brought a smile to Lena's face. She clicked on it before the notification banner could go away and began typing a response.</p><p> </p><p>"Who are you texting?"</p><p> </p><p>"No one," Lena snipped.</p><p> </p><p>"Bullshit. It's Kara, isn't it? I can see that goofy grin on your face, Lena."</p><p> </p><p>"Fuck off." Lena didn't even need to see Sam to know that she was smirking.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Morning! How's your day been?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Well I just woke up five minutes ago, but I'm texting you so I guess it's going pretty great so far ;)</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Charmer.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>How's your nephew?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>He's doing good</em>
</p><p>
  <em>They gave him some Benadryl for the hives and said that he should avoid peaches from now on</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>It's good that they figured out what caused the reaction. Though it sucks that he won't be able to enjoy the taste of peaches for the time being.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>THATS WHAT I SAID</em>
</p><p>
  <em>great minds think alike lol</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, sure, Lena, text Kara. I'm not even here."</p><p> </p><p>"If I remember correctly you were the one that told me to go out there and give Kara a chance. We're having a nice conversation right now,<em> Sam</em>."</p><p> </p><p>Sam slumped in defeat. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I'm gonna swing by my sister's place to check on him after I leave the studio</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I have to record two whole songs today :(</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Studio? I thought you sang live?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Oh I do!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>When a song is very instrumental heavy I like to prerecord vocals and the different instruments too</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Then we put the track over the filmed stuffy stuff</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Stuffy stuff?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Sowwy im not very good wiff words &gt;:(</em>
</p><p>
  <em>My friend Winn does all the mixing and stuff</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I don't know half of what that crap is called</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I just show up ready to sing and play </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>So you play all of your own music? You don't just find an instrumental backing</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I mean sometimes, but I prefer playing the songs myself</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It takes more time, but the product is better in my opinion</em>
</p><p>
  <em>That's what I'm doing today</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Wow, that's actually pretty impressive.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Coming from you, Miss Emmy-nom </em>
</p><p>
  <em>But thank you :)</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Stop blushing."</p><p> </p><p>"Shut up, we're bonding."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Well as much as I'd love to lay in my bed and text you all day, I've gotta be at the studio in an hour</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I'll talk to you later?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Yes, of course :)</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Have fun recording!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>&lt;3</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Lena's cheeks burned from how hard she was smiling. Her face was probably beet red, but she couldn't bring herself to care. How was it that a simple conversation with Kara could turn her into a teenager who had just fallen head over heels?</p><p> </p><p>"Are you finished?" Sam piped up, feigning exasperation. Lena knew Sam was happy for her, even if she pretended to be annoyed.</p><p> </p><p>"Yes," Lena drawled. Clicking back to the FaceTime screen, Sam's smiling face was present on her phone once again.</p><p> </p><p>"What were you two talking about?"</p><p> </p><p>"Nothing much. She just gave me an update on her nephew. It was peaches that caused the reaction," Lena said. "Then, she told me about how her day was looking. She has to go into the studio later to record a couple songs."</p><p> </p><p>Sam's brows furrowed, "Studio? Isn't that a little... I don't know, mainstream? Considering she sings covers on Instagram, I mean."</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, that's what I thought, too. She told me that she usually just posts live videos, but every once in a while she likes to go in and record. Especially if she wants to play the instrumental."</p><p> </p><p>Pursing her lips, Sam nodded her head, "All I'm hearing is that you have a type."</p><p> </p><p>Lena's head tilted to the side, her face going blank. "What do you mean?"</p><p> </p><p>Sam sighed at her friend's obliviousness. "You have a thing for talented women," Sam stated, but seeing the still confused look on Lena's face, she elaborated. "Andrea's most recent film was nominated for a Golden Globe. Kara could be on Broadway or something with the voice she has. Oh, and remember that thing you had for Bryce Dallas Howard while filming <em>Jurassic World</em>?"</p><p> </p><p>Lena went quiet, thinking over what Sam just spewed out at her. She did have a point, as much as Lena hated to admit. All of those women were extremely talented, but that didn't mean she had a type, did it?</p><p> </p><p>No. Lena worked in the film industry. The people she meets through work are also going to be actors, therefore, talented. That's normal. Common, actually. Nearly every big name movie star is married to another big name movie star that they'd met while filming a big name movie. It was basically unavoidable.</p><p> </p><p>Kara was just a coincidence.</p><p> </p><p>"A type would be me liking certain features a person has. Say blonde hair, or brown eyes, or a specific height range. That would make a type," Lena tried to explain.</p><p> </p><p>"Not everything's about physical attributes, Lena," Sam quipped. "You have a type. Own it."</p><p> </p><p>Lena grumbled incoherent protests as Sam beamed.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>"Play that back again."</p><p> </p><p>Winn took an aggressive bite out of the Twizzler that had been hanging out the corner of his mouth for the better half of fifteen minutes. "Playback coming right up," he said, the words sounding garbled from the mouthful of artificial licorice.</p><p> </p><p>Their studio (Because it wasn't just Kara's, they were a team; Kara sang, Winn edited the music and videos, James shot the videos, and Lucy dabbled in directing here and there when her assistance was needed) wasn't much, but it got the job done. It was originally a spare bedroom in James and Lucy's house, but when Kara's Instagram page started to pick up momentum, they kindly offered her the spot to use. </p><p> </p><p>Kara and James spent a whole weekend renovating the room two years ago. They added noise-proof padding all along the walls, a sound system that costed Kara her entire paycheck for that month, and a recording booth in the corner of the room. They based it off of a shower with a sliding glass door. It was a bit of a tight fit, but Kara could record in there without being interrupted.</p><p> </p><p>A couch also managed to fit in the room, along with a keyboard and an electronic drum set they could store elsewhere if need be, and then a few rolling desk chairs. But the real heart of the studio was Winn's audio interface. He brought it in after Kara and James finished setting up the room. The equipment probably costed more than Winn's rent and to this day no one really knew how he managed to pay for it, but he did. If they didn't have a good audio interface, the whole production would've fell through. </p><p> </p><p>That's all they really needed in the studio, but Winn being Winn added a few more things to make it feel more homey. Like a shelf with still boxed Funko Pops of famous musicians (and a few <em>Star Wars</em> characters thrown in there), a miniature table top Pac-Man game, and color-changing lights always set to royal blue to add a<em> cool-toned </em><em>ambiance</em>, as he liked to put it.</p><p> </p><p>The opening chords to "Everything Has Changed" rang out through the studio's enhanced speaker system. The surround sound made the simple strum of Kara's guitar vibrate the walls and floor, making the soles of Kara's feet buzz. (She chose to sing that song for reasons relating to the roller coaster of emotions she'd gone through the past week while talking to Lena, but no one needed to know that.)</p><p> </p><p>Right when Kara's voice sounded out, Kara hit Winn's shoulder. "Pause, pause! Did you hear that?"</p><p> </p><p>"No, but I can feel the way you bruised my shoulder," Winn complained, his face scrunched in pain. He rolled out his rotator cuff with a wince. "What are you hearing?"</p><p> </p><p>Rolling her eyes at his dramatics, Kara went to tap at a spot on his computer screen before stopping herself and just pointing. Winn <em>hated</em> when people got fingerprints on his laptop. Despite his warnings, Kara still ended up touching the screen on accident by the end of their recording sessions, so much so that Winn had a cloth lens wipe on standby.</p><p> </p><p>"There," she pointed, "I think my finger slipped a little and hit the high e while playing that b minor." </p><p> </p><p>Winn followed her finger to the beginning of Kara's main vocal track. He went and replayed the clip, turning up the volume so he could try to hear what Kara was getting at. Sure enough, Winn zeroed in on a slightly sharp shrill. <br/><br/></p><p>"It's barely audible. I can edit it with autotune in post."</p><p> </p><p>Kara shook her head, "No, I'll just re-record the intro." She grabbed her guitar from where it was resting on the couch and made her way into the booth.</p><p> </p><p>"Kara, you know that's ridiculously unnecessary, right?" Winn protested, but it fell deaf upon Kara's ears. Kara slid a set of headphones on and got into a comfortable position on the chair placed in the booth for when she was playing. She plucked each string to make sure the guitar was still in tune, then shot Winn a thumbs up.</p><p> </p><p>Winn sighed, throwing on his own headphones.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>At least she was adamant. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Whenever you're ready!"</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Later that evening while Lena was relaxing on the couch with a glass of wine and a cheesy Hallmark movie playing, her phone dinged, cutting through the peacefulness that settled over her penthouse. Lena exhaled deeply, reaching out to to grab her phone off of the coffee table. She'd tossed it onto the table almost an hour ago when the five percent battery alert came up. Too comfy to get up and put it on charge, Lena just left it like it was.</p><p> </p><p>"I swear to God, Sam, you better not be texting-" Lena cut herself off at upon seeing the name on the screen. A beaming smile spread across her face for the second time that day.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Kara</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>Someone wants to say hi!!</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Attached was a picture of Kara holding a small baby. Kara had told her that Jay had a contagious smile during their date, but now Lena could truly see what she meant. His lopsided, toothless grin was paired with rosy cheeks and big brown eyes. He didn't have much hair, but from the patchy spots on top of his head, Lena could see that the color would grow into a sandy brown. Lena found it endearing that his smile nearly mimicked that of his aunt's. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Too cute!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Me or the baby?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>How would you feel if I said both?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Slightly betrayed, but happy nonetheless :)</em>
</p><p>
  <em>How was your day?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>One of the calmest days I've had in a while. I just relaxed and hung out with my cat.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>A KITTY!?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>What's their name??</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Lena found herself smiling even harder at Kara's excitement over her cat.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>His name is Merlot.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>You named your cat after a type of wine?</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>It was a drunken </em> <em>decision.</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>You seem to be making a lot of those lately...</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>That was an uncomfortable conversation, when Kara asked Lena how she found her Instagram account last night. Lena stumbled through the awkward explanation, much to Kara's amusement. At the end of it, Kara wasn't upset, but rather found the whole story funny. Somehow, that made the whole situation even more embarrassing. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Oh hush, I could've messaged you to bully you for being so infatuated with me</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>That's so mean!! :(</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And infatuated? I am NOT infatuated with you</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>No because I really think you are.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>infatuate </em>
</p><p>
  <em>(verb)</em>
</p><p>
  <em>be inspired with an intense but short-lived passion or admiration for.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Um, okay..?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I'm not "infatuated" with you Lena. The definition states right there that infatuation is short-lived.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Nothing about what I feel for you is so surface level that it could be chalked down to a "short-lived passion"</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Lena's heart hammered in her chest at Kara's words. Her eyes were glued to the three dots indicating that Kara was still typing. Kara was absolutely right with that definition.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Intense.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Intense.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Intense.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The word flashed in her mind in tune with the pounding of her heart. </p><p> </p><p>The typing dots disappeared just a lengthy, green bubble popped up. Lena quickly scrambled to read the message.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Lena I really-</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>And that's all she managed to read before her phone died.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>do yourselves a favor and listen to Mel's version of 'the first noel' she did on glee. the full studio version, not the one played in the episode. it's literally angelic idk how else to describe it lol</p><p>thanks for reading!! leave a comment if you want, i don't bite. :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>;)</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>so i wanted to try and get this out on Christmas Eve, but i am just not that fast of a writer. time slipped away, Christmas came and went, and now i am finally posting this. take it as a late Christmas gift from me to you all. didn't want to rush this chapter too much because i needed it to do this *part* justice. enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Kara</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>Lena I really- </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Fuck!" Lena swore. She shot up from the couch, her reckless movement causing the wine in her glass to slosh around dangerously close to the edge. Haphazardly dropping her glass on the coffee table, Lena rushed to her bedroom, finding her charger rolled up on her nightstand. With shaking hands, she managed to get the wall adapter plugged into the socket after only two failed attempts. Fighting to find the end of the cable, Lena cursed herself for ever buying a six foot long charger.</p><p> </p><p>When she finally found the end cord and plugged it into her phone, Lena let out a heavy sigh. She flopped onto her bed, rather ungracefully, and stared up at the ceiling. Her back felt the tiniest bit uncomfortable being stretched out for the first time in hours. Lena also cursed her lazy posture.</p><p> </p><p>Of course the one time Lena decided to forgo charging her phone, she actually needed it. Lena always had her phone charged. She rarely used it during her work days, so by the time she got home in the evening, it was still at around eighty percent. On days she went out, she carried a portable charger with her. Lena always kept her phone charged.</p><p> </p><p>Almost always.</p><p> </p><p>"What was she even saying?" Lena wondered aloud, "'Lena I really' what?"</p><p> </p><p>Thinking back to what she did read before her phone battery decided to screw her over, Lena resonated with Kara's words. While it did come suddenly, Lena's attraction towards Kara was as Kara had described.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Nothing about what I feel for you is so surface level that it could be chalked down to a "short-lived passion"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Surface level. She didn't like Lena because of her looks, or her fame, or her money. She liked Lena for her personality. As cliche as it sounded, Kara didn't care about what was on the outside, she only cared about what was on the inside. It shouldn't have made Lena as happy as it did, someone liking her for her instead of just her status. It was the bare minimum in a relationship, truthfully. But she'll be damned if it didn't make her all warm and fuzzy inside. </p><p> </p><p>The most surprising part in the whole situation was that she felt the exact same. </p><p> </p><p>Hearing the quiet hum of her phone turning back on put Lena and her thoughts out of their misery. She quickly sat up in her bed and grabbed her phone. She stared at the white Apple logo for a moment before her wallpaper lit up the screen — a picture of her and Sam in front of the Eiffel Tower from their trip to Paris a year ago. After she slid up and typed in her password, Lena opened up the messages app.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Kara</strong>
</p><p><em>Lena I really hope you know that I'm in this. Like all in. I like you a lot and I hope you feel the same way. I haven't been in a relationship in a while, so I'm kinda rusty with the whole girlfriend thing, but I'm super down to figure this out with you. </em> <em>If you want to tho. </em> <em>I'm totally cool with just staying friends or whatever. Don't feel obligated to rush into something you're not comfortable with for my sake</em></p><p>
  <em>Hello? Lena?</em>
</p><p><em>Geez, I </em> <em>probably sound clingy now</em></p><p>
  <em>"Pick me, choose me, love me!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Wait, you may not even understand that reference</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Do you watch Grey's Anatomy?? My sister and I love that show</em>
</p><p>
  <em>My fav characters are Lexie and Arizona, but Alex likes Cristina</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I like Meredith too, but she's a little too "I want to die" for me, if you catch my drift</em>
</p><p>
  <em>That's not even what we're talking about, I'm going to shut up now</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I have a tendency to ramble about things when I'm nervous</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kind of like what I'm doing right now</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Gosh pointing out exactly what I'm doing is not helping my case</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Crap I'm still doing it!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Just let me know if I said something wrong or anything! I don't want to offend you in any way, I promise that's not my intention.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I just wanted to let you know that I like you a lot.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>:)</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Lena blinked a few times at the spew of words Kara had thrown at her. She'd met people who rambled under pressure before, but never anyone would could ramble over a text message. Kara could honestly slap a bow on it and call it another one of her talents. A new notch in her belt. </p><p> </p><p>Lena found it adorable how Kara went out of her way to try and explain her own feelings without making her pressured at all. Lena still very much had a say in how things went from here. She appreciated that. So many people nowadays tried to guilt-trip other people into relationships, and that led to toxic atmospheres. With Kara's rambling, Lena knew that there would not be any sort of communication issue with them in the future.</p><p> </p><p><em>Future</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Kara was in Lena's future.</p><p> </p><p>That was a delightful thought.</p><p> </p><p>She decided to keep her response short and sweet to try and make up for the minutes of fear she caused Kara while her phone was dead.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I like you too Kara</em>
</p><p>
  <em>A lot</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And my favorite character is Callie :)</em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Lena walked down the hall of Kara's floor, counting down the door numbers as she went. </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>C1</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>C3</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>C5</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>The Sunday brunch was still on, and she immediately jumped on Kara's offer to have it at her place for one big reason. It was because of Mike Matthews, a paparazzo who was always stationed in front of her building. It's been his post for years, and he has no respect for her privacy in the slightest. When Lena first moved into her penthouse, she was only twenty years old. She was flattered and a bit excited that someone was out there trying to capture pictures of her. It meant her name was getting out there. </p><p> </p><p>Then Mike overstayed his welcome. He got comfortable. Memorizing Lena's daily schedule in order to snap the best photos of her leaving or entering her building was one of his most annoying tactics, besides his plain douchey attitude. Mike would come right up on Lena, shout out invasive questions at her, ignore her pleads for him to back up or leave her alone. Lena had to start having Hector escort her in and out of her own building. A driver acting as a bodyguard all because of one arrogant, egocentric man. </p><p> </p><p>Lena <em>loathed</em> Mike Matthews.</p><p> </p><p>The worst part was there was nothing she could do about him. There were laws in place to protect the rights of the paparazzi. Harassment claims were turned down or swept under the rug time and time again by many of the big name women in the city. Mike wasn't the only guy out there who didn't care about privacy. There were hundreds of them out there just intruding on people's lives for a check. In the eyes of the National City Policy Department, if they didn't put their hands on you, they didn't do anything wrong, or some bullshit like that.</p><p> </p><p>Lena didn't want Kara dealing with Mike so soon into their relationship. Mike would undoubtedly badger her with questions to try and get information on Lena. He did it all the time. Lena had to sent out apology cards to all of the residents in her building on multiple occasions because him.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>C7</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>C9</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>She stopped in front of Kara's door. Third floor, fifth door on the right. The last time she stood in this spot, she and Kara almost kissed. Closing her eyes, she could still feel the ghost of Kara's touch. Her right hand resting on Lena's waist, and her left holding Lena's in a soft but secure embrace. Baby blue eyes stare deeply into her own as she begins to lean in, Lena following suit.</p><p> </p><p>Then, cell phone.</p><p> </p><p>Lena opened her eyes, breaking herself from her daydream, and then gave three heavy knocks at the door. Barely a second passed before the door shot open and then she was face to face with a beaming Kara.</p><p> </p><p>"Lena!" Kara exclaimed happily. "Hey, come in."</p><p> </p><p>The smile that spread across Lena's face at Kara's enthusiasm was completely instinctive. </p><p> </p><p>Kara shuffled to the side so Lena could walk in. Upon walking inside, Lena took in the entirety of Kara's open-floor-plan loft. To the right of the entrance was the kitchen, and to the left was a small dining table, a white tablecloth draped on top. Further into the apartment, Lena saw a couch and a few mix-matched single stool seats. That's all she was able to catch at first glance, not wanting to look nosy.<br/><br/><br/></p><p>Lena turned around and was instantly wrapped in Kara's arms. The abruptness of the hug caught Lena off guard so she froze up for a moment before relaxing into Kara. She smelled like lavender and sunshine and all things yellow and Lena basked in the feeling of her body against Kara's. She could definitely get used to it.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I like you a lot and I hope you feel the same way.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Kara's message from the night before rang through her head. Lena found herself in a bout of soft laughter at Kara's unsureness. She knew it had to of been terrifying for Kara, throwing all of your feelings out on the table like that, especially to someone in a position like Lena's. But she laughed because the answer was so simple to her. </p><p> </p><p>Of course she liked her back.</p><p> </p><p>Feeling Lena's shoulders shaking, Kara ran her hand up and down her back. "What's got you all giggly?"</p><p> </p><p>Lena sighed into the crook of Kara's neck, the feeling sending chills down Kara's spine. "You," Lena answered simply. "You're adorable."</p><p> </p><p>"You've been here less than two minutes," Kara chuckled. "How could I have done something adorable already?"</p><p> </p><p>"You just are," Lena concluded, settling for an easy response. She spent a few more seconds nestled into Kara's frame before pulling away, going to shrug off her coat.</p><p> </p><p>"Let me take that," Kara offered. After Lena handed her the garment, she turned to go put it on the coat hook by the front door. "I hope you like pancakes."</p><p> </p><p>"Pancakes sound great, thank you."</p><p> </p><p>"Okay, then," Kara clapped her hands together, a toothy grin on her face, "Let me get the mix out." Kara went into the kitchen and searched through her cupboards. Finding an unopened box of pancake mix, she sat it down on the island, then bent down to look for a pan.</p><p> </p><p>"Wait, we're making the pancakes ourselves?" Lena questioned.</p><p> </p><p>Kara popped back up from behind the island with a pan in hand. "Yeah," Kara replied, sounding a bit breathless from rummaging through the kitchen. "Is that a problem?"</p><p> </p><p>"No, no, of course not," Lena quickly assured. "I just can't remember the last time I ever made pancakes."</p><p> </p><p>Truthfully, Lena couldn't remember the last time she ever made anything. Ever since she was a child, living with the Luthors had its perks when it came to the culinary aspect of things. She never had to make her own sandwich for lunch, or prepare her own soup if she was sick. They had chefs for that, and damn good ones. After moving out of the Luthor Mansion and into her dorm at Mt. Helena, nothing really changed. Though she no longer had a personal one, there were still talented chefs working in the cafeteria. In the four and a half months she spent at MIT, Lena took advantage of the offered meal plans. Once she dropped out and began living on her own, Lena started ordering take out (and never really stopped).</p><p> </p><p>Kara's smile faded the smallest bit at Lena's confession, but was still bright enough to rival the sun. "Oh, um, okay. I was kind of hoping you were some amazing cook so you could help me. I'm sort of a klutz in the kitchen."</p><p> </p><p>Lena let out a relieved chuckle, the worry that she had ruined their entire brunch date over pancakes of all things seeping out of her. "Hate to break it to you, but I won't be much of a help, darling."</p><p> </p><p>A rosy blush spread across Kara's cheeks at the pet name. Lena hadn't even realized she'd said it until it came out, but Kara's reaction showed that she didn't mind it. Liked it, even.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>It felt strangely natural, working her way around Kara's kitchen. Lena found that it didn't take much work to make pancakes from a box, much to her relief. Pour the powder into a bowl, add three-fourths a cup of milk, a tablespoon of oil, an egg, and then mix. Kara deemed herself the superior pancake maker and settled on frying them without assistance. She gave Lena the job of brewing them tea since Lena said she preferred that over coffee. </p><p> </p><p>As Kara stood watch over the pancake she was currently frying, Lena placed the kettle full of water onto the back eye of the stove. Lena turned and leant back onto counter next to the stove, careful not to touch the hot surface. She had a good five minutes before the water would begin to boil, and that left her with nothing to do.</p><p> </p><p>Deciding to break the silence, Lena asked, "Which songs did you sing?"</p><p> </p><p>"Hm?" Kara hummed, breaking her attention away from the slightly raw pancake in the pan.</p><p> </p><p>"You said you had to record two songs yesterday," Lean rephrased.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, yeah. I did "Everything Has Changed" by Taylor Swift and "One Thing" by One Direction."</p><p> </p><p>"Some early 2010s classics," Lena mused, "Nice."</p><p> </p><p>Kara just flashed her a smile and went to flip the pancake. </p><p> </p><p>They spent a few moments in a comfortable silence. The pancake finished cooking and Lena watched in amusement as Kara struggled to get enough of it onto the spatula so it wouldn't fold over. She ended up having to grab another spatula and scooped it out.</p><p> </p><p>"Who's your favorite artist?" Kara asked once she began pouring more of the mix into the pan. She sat the bowl with the mixture down and moved back to rest against the kitchen island. She and Lena were directly across from each other now, no more that two feet separating them.</p><p> </p><p>"Probably Louis le Brocquy. His style is so unique, I love it."</p><p> </p><p>Kara's eyebrows rose as she bit her bottom lip. "Is he, um, like classical or opera or something?"</p><p> </p><p>Lena initially cocked an eyebrow, trying to rack her brain for whatever the hell Kara meant by an opera artist, then it hit her. "<em>Oh</em>," Lena realized. "You meant artist as in musician, didn't you?"</p><p> </p><p>"What else could I have meant?" She questioned.</p><p> </p><p>"I thought you meant my favorite artist like a painter."</p><p> </p><p>Realization settled over Kara's features before the both of them broke out laughing.</p><p> </p><p>They truly did come from different worlds, huh?</p><p> </p><p>When their laughter died down, Kara's eyes remained locked on Lena. Her eyes, more specifically. It was the first time Kara really took notice of them. They were a light jade green and Kara swore she saw flecks of gold towards the pupils. Her left eye, that one was a shade darker than the right, almost nearing the color blue. </p><p> </p><p>"Your eyes are beautiful," Kara said, the words tumbling out of her mouth before she could realize what she was even saying.</p><p> </p><p>Lena looked somewhat taken aback by Kara's comment, and Kara rushed to clear the air. "Sorry! Sorry, that was weird. I'm sorry."</p><p> </p><p>"It's okay, Kara," she reassured her. "I'm quite flattered."</p><p> </p><p>"Good," Kara sighed. She looked down at her feet, internally cursing herself for not changing out of her Supergirl slippers and dinosaur crew socks. "Listen, Lena, I just want to apologize for Friday night."</p><p> </p><p>Lena tilted her head, crossing her arms across her chest. "Kara, I already told you everything was alright. You don't need to apologize for the drive to the hospital-"</p><p> </p><p>"Not about the ride," Kara interrupted. She brought her head back up again and met Lena's gaze. "I'm sorry for making a move on you."</p><p> </p><p>Of all the things Kara could have said, Lena definitely wasn't expecting that. Was it not clear that Lena reciprocated the action? That she wanted it, too?</p><p> </p><p>"We'd only just met a few hours before, and I don't want you to think I was just in it to try and get in your pants or something. I barely even hold someone's hand on the first date, let alone kiss them, so I don't know what came over me. I should've waited a little longer, and I definitely should've asked you first."</p><p> </p><p>Lena tuned out as Kara went on about how important consent was and while she agreed with her, Lena didn't care for Kara's apology, not when there wasn't anything to apologize for. Lena's heart pounded in her chest, and that was all she could focus on. That, and the movement of Kara's lips as she spoke; the way they would feel against her own, how they would taste.</p><p> </p><p>Deciding to bite the bullet and put Kara out of her misery, Lena pushed back off the counter she was resting on, shooting herself forward into Kara. Her hand found its way to the back of Kara's neck as she pulled her down and their lips met. Kara stiffened at the sensation, but soon melted into the kiss. Her eyes fluttered closed involuntarily as the world seemed to stop around them. Lena’s heart was no longer going a mile a minute, and the sentences that were on the tip of Kara's tongue fizzled out. All either of them could think of was the feeling of the other's mouth against theirs.</p><p> </p><p>The kiss was everything and nothing all at once and could only be described as tender. </p><p> </p><p>Tender.</p><p> </p><p>Gentle.</p><p> </p><p>Soft.</p><p> </p><p><em>Loving</em>.</p><p> </p><p>They both jumped apart as the tea kettle whistled, signaling that the water had begun to boil. Kara kept her hands on Lena’s waist as she spared a quick glance over at the stove. Lena hadn’t even noticed her put them there, being too wrapped up in the fire running through her bones. She felt lighter than she had before. <em>Weightless</em>, even. If it weren’t for Kara’s vice grip on her hips, Lena swore she would have floated up into the atmosphere. Kara kept her tethered down to Earth. </p><p> </p><p>Blue reconnected with green as Lena’s breathing returned to normal. Lena couldn’t speak for Kara, but if her blown pupils and dazed expression were anything to go by, she enjoyed that kiss just as much as Lena did.</p><p> </p><p>“Wow,” Kara said breathlessly. “That was… <em> Wow </em>.”</p><p> </p><p>Lena laughed wholeheartedly. "Wow, indeed, Kara Danvers."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>yay! they finally kissed!!</p><p>I hope you had merry Christmas if you celebrate it! also happy Kwanzaa to those who celebrate that! just happy holidays all the way around :)))</p><p>this is gonna be the last you see of me in 2020, so i hope you all have a happy new year!! here's to a better 2021!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>soft supercorp, a livestream (because only good things happen live obvi), and some thirsty lena</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>now you may argue that the most unrealistic part of supergirl was that lena and other people couldn't/can't figure out kara and supergirl are one and the same, however, i have a different argument. pilot episode. kara's blind date ditching her. are you serious? super unrealistic :/</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The last time Kara kissed someone was six months ago. She was on a blind date with a guy named Mitch Jameson. The date wasn't too bad, in all honesty. Mitch insisted on paying for the meal, to which Kara offered that they split it half and half. It took a few minutes of twisting his arm, but he finally agreed. Kara didn't mind that too much. He was obviously just trying to be chivalrous. If they had decided to take things further, that's definitely one of the first things Kara would've liked to change. Relationships were fifty-fifty.</p><p> </p><p>He also opened the door for her, adjusted the air conditioning in his car to fit her standards, upon other "gentlemen-like" actions. He even walked her to her apartment and surprised her by leaning in for a quick kiss good night. It wasn't so much Kara's way of doing things, but Mitch was nice enough. </p><p> </p><p>The next morning she found out that the car he drove her home in was stolen. </p><p> </p><p>So, not only was the last time Kara kissed someone six months ago, the kiss had been with a fugitive. </p><p> </p><p>Before Mitch had been Kate Kane, and while she was nice enough, they just weren't a perfect match. There were others, but no one had ever clicked with Kara the way Lena did. No one since Leslie.</p><p> </p><p>Kara and Leslie met in Kara's junior year of college. She was out at a bar with her friends one night. Though she was a year shy of being legal, the all too packed main room of the dive bar meant that only a small amount of cards were being checked. She never really went up to get her own drinks, anyway. As long as they paid her, Maggie, Alex's then girlfriend, was practically their drink chauffeur.</p><p> </p><p>Maggie pointed out to Kara that Leslie had been eyeing her the whole night. Kara took the liberty to go introduce herself, then they just hit it off. In what seemed like an instant, they went from strangers in a bar, to spending the night together, to spending <em>even more</em> nights together, to Kara moving out of her and Alex's apartment and into Leslie's.</p><p> </p><p>Leslie had been Kara's longest relationship. They were together for nearly four years before Kara broke it off. The thought in the back of her mind of things just not feeling like they used to feel was brought to the forefront. Things fell into the light. Kara realized the Leslie that she loved wasn't there anymore. She was a different person, put simply.</p><p> </p><p>"Kara," Lena called gently. Lena's voice broke Kara from her thoughts and brought her back to the present. Earlier, after the tea kettle's not so perfect timing, Lena had reached up and place one last kiss to Kara's lips, then went to go prepare the tea. The pancake Kara left cooking on the stove was completely burnt, but Kara couldn't even bring herself to care. </p><p> </p><p>The pair ate their breakfast sitting across from each other at Kara's kitchen island. They shared light small talk, both happy to finally be on the same page with one another. After breakfast, they moved to the couch, Kara popping her copy of <em>Jurassic World</em> into the DVD player, much to Lena's displeasure.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"What? It's some of your best work."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"My screen time was literally three minutes."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"And you made a lasting impact on the audience. That's called stealing the show."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Between the two of them, they'd probably seen that movie over twenty times, most of the rewatches on Kara's end. Because of that, they didn't need to pay much attention to every second of the film to follow along. They found themselves cuddled up next to each other, Kara sitting in the corner of the couch with Lena nestled comfortably against her, stealing loving glances and chaste kisses every now and then. </p><p> </p><p>"Hm?" Kara hummed in acknowledgment, looking down to where Lena's head rested on her shoulder. Lena's eyelids had begun to droop, green eyes glazed over with drowsiness as she snuggled herself impossibly closer to Kara's side.</p><p> </p><p>"What're you thinking about?"</p><p> </p><p>Kara shifted ever so slightly, bringing her hand to back of Lena's head, running her fingers though her soft, brown tresses. "Nothing, just zoned out."</p><p> </p><p>Lena lazily nodded her head, letting her eyes fully close. "Tired," she mumbled, lethargy mixed with heavier traces of her Irish accent thick in her tone. "Tea makes me sleepy."</p><p> </p><p>"Wanna move to my bed?" Kara offered, already going to push herself up from her spot on the couch.</p><p> </p><p>"No, wait," Lena stopped her, grabbing a fistful of the fabric of Kara's shirt in an attempt to hold her down. "Stay with me, here. Wanna be next to you."</p><p> </p><p>Kara smiled at Lena's weary state. She was still buzzing from their first kiss, not finding herself tired in the slightest, but she settled into Lena's embrace anyway. Lena shuffled down a little bit, bringing her head to lay on Kara's lap. She curled her legs up on the sofa just as Kara threw the throw blanket from the back of the couch over Lena. Kara grabbed the remote, turning the tv off. After leaning to place a soft kiss on Lena's hairline, Kara relaxed, letting out a content sigh. Soon enough, she drifted off to sleep as well.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Lena awoke to a dull vibration against her ear. Blinking to try and clear her vision, she pushed herself up from Kara's lap. The last thing she remembered was fighting back sleep next to Kara while watching the movie. The tv was now turned off and from a quick glance at a clock on the wall, it was ten til' one. Two hours had passed since Lena got to Kara's apartment at ten forty-five.</p><p> </p><p>An involuntary smile spread across Lena's face when she turned and saw Kara asleep. Her head was resting in the palm of her hand on the armrest of the couch. With her glasses sitting askew on the bridge of her nose and her mouth hung slightly open, Kara looked absolutely adorable. The bright, early afternoon sun shining through the floor to ceiling windows shone on Kara's face <em>just</em> right, allowing Lena to finally notice the light dusting of freckles on Kara's cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>Bringing her right hand to cup Kara's neck, Lena gently ran her thumb across the surface of Kara's jaw, attempting to rouse her from her slumber.</p><p> </p><p>"Kara," Lena urged when her movements did nothing to wake her.</p><p> </p><p>Kara's eyes fluttered before opening completely, revealing hazy baby blues. </p><p> </p><p>"Hey," she husked, her voice rough from the nap.</p><p> </p><p>"Hi," Lena whispered, unable to stop herself from leaning in to press a kiss to Kara's lips, the husk of her voice drawing Lena in like a moth to a flame. Kara's lips tasted like her signature cherry chapstick with a hint of a maple syrup. Feeling Kara smiling into the kiss, Lena pulled back. Lena bit her bottom lip, trying to stop herself from grinning wildly the soft expression Kara was giving her. "Your phone's buzzing."</p><p> </p><p>Kara, distracted from wrapping her arms around Lena's frame and pulling her down to sit in her lap, didn't quite hear what she said. "Huh?" She asked, nuzzling her face into the crook of Lena's neck.</p><p> </p><p>"Your phone is ringing."</p><p> </p><p>Reaching into the pocket of her jeans, Kara slipped out her phone. "Crap," she muttered, pressing a button on her phone to stop the ringing.</p><p> </p><p>"Who is it?"</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, no one's calling me. That's my alarm reminding me about my livestream." Kara tapped Lena's hip, a silent gesture asking her to slide off of her lap. When Lena was sitting on an actual couch cushion again, Kara stood up and reached her arms up over her head, letting out a yawn as she stretched. </p><p> </p><p>"Livestream?" Lena questioned, her gaze following Kara as she disappeared behind the curtain closing off her bedroom. </p><p> </p><p>Kara reappeared a moment later carrying a tripod. "Yeah, I go live on Instagram every Sunday at one. It gives me an opportunity to connect with everyone who consistently watches my content." She placed the tripod in front of the couch and flipped a switch on the side that turned on a small ring light. </p><p> </p><p>"Oh yeah, I saw something on Twitter about a livestream you did with your sister."</p><p> </p><p>"Please don't tell me it was the stream where Alex was teasing me about liking you."</p><p> </p><p>"I'm afraid so, darling," Lena laughed.</p><p> </p><p>"No!" Kara groaned, tossing her head back in embarrassment. "I should've known that would be all over Twitter. It's like they're always screen-recording everything."</p><p> </p><p>Lena stood from the couch, grabbing Kara's phone and securing it onto the tripod for her. "If it's any consolation, the video reassured me that this wasn't a one-sided thing."</p><p> </p><p>"What do you mean?"</p><p> </p><p>"When you didn't respond to my flirting right away, I immediately assumed you just didn't like me as much as I liked you. I thought I scared you off. Then my friend showed me that video and it eased my worries, I guess."</p><p> </p><p>"Well, I'm glad that one of us got something good out of that ordeal because that sucked for me," Kara giggled. She adjusted the tripod once more, then went to sit back down on the couch. "You can turn the tv back on if you want. The stream won't be more than twenty minutes."</p><p> </p><p>"Mind if I join you instead?" Lena asked.</p><p> </p><p>The surprise of Lena's question was evident on Kara's face. "Really? You'd do that?"</p><p> </p><p>"I mean, yeah. A good number of my fans are fans of you as well. I think it'd be fun to see everyone's reactions. Plus, it would make a good follow up to your last livestream."</p><p> </p><p>Kara smiled, nodding her head eagerly. "Okay, let's do it."</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>"Hey, guys!" Kara beamed, talking to the viewers of the live. "I have a very special guest with me today. Can any of you guess who?"</p><p> </p><p>Lena sat at the other end of the couch, waiting for Kara's signal to pop into frame. </p><p> </p><p>"Are you guys really saying Lucy? I'd have to pay her to be on one of these with me," Kara laughed. She humored a few more guesses, then decided to put an end to it. "Okay, I don't think you are ever gonna guess who it is, so I'm just gonna bring them on out."</p><p> </p><p>Sliding down the couch, Lena stopped herself right next to Kara. She smiled at all of the shocked comments from the viewers popping up on the screen. "Hi, everyone."</p><p> </p><p>Once the shock died down in the chat, Kara and Lena migrated into answering some fan questions.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Someone asks if you have TikTok?" Lena read off, directing the question to Kara.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Nah, I haven't covered any Kesha songs before."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>They went back and forth reading questions. Some questions were specifically meant for Lena and some for Kara, but overall, they each gave an answer for most. </p><p> </p><p>"I think we're only gonna answer like two more questions, and then we're gonna head off." Kara announced.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, let’s see… <em>jacy_253</em> asks if we have any tattoos,” Lena read aloud. She looked away from the phone and back to Kara who was already nodding her head in agreement. </p><p> </p><p>“I have four, actually,” Kara said.</p><p> </p><p>“What? No way,” Lena accused in disbelief. Not to be stereotypical, but Kara didn’t necessarily look like the tattoo type. Piercings, maybe - the image of Kara with a lip ring immediately popped into her mind - but definitely not tattoos.</p><p> </p><p>“Um, yes way,” Kara chuckled. “I’ll prove it to you.” She turned towards the phone again and rolled up the sleeve of her left arm. “This is probably the one you guys notice most often,” she continued, talking to the viewers now. “It’s pretty small so it might’ve been hard to see, though. Anyway, it says “I love you, K” in my adoptive father’s handwriting.”</p><p> </p><p>Kara moved closer to the camera so everyone could get a better look, then backed up so Lena could see, too. Lena grasped Kara’s arm, steadying it. In tiny, loopy cursive letters was the short sentiment. It resided just above the crease of Kara’s elbow, written so that only Kara would be able to read it while looking down. From any other direction it looked upside down. Lena smiled at the words. Kara had mentioned to her on their date that her adoptive father had passed away when she was younger, but she never really elaborated on the subject. Regardless, Lena was sure the tattoo meant a tremendous amount to Kara. </p><p> </p><p>After her close inspection, Lena let go of Kara’s arm and looked up. Kara was staring down at her, a soft smile on her face. Lena hoped Kara’s phone camera couldn’t pick up the blush that spread across her cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>“Um, where are the others?” Lena asked, breaking the silence that had formed between the two of them. </p><p> </p><p>Kara snapped from her haze. “Oh, right. I have a fermata down here.” She shoved her foot on top of the coffee table to show off the small character just below the bone of her ankle. "I wanted to get something music related because it's such a big part of my life, but the fermata sort of has a double meaning for me. In music, when a fermata is written into a piece, the conductor or the director gets to choose how long the note it's over is held. Something has been written out for them, but they are still in control."</p><p> </p><p>Lena watched Kara intently, taking in everything she was saying.</p><p> </p><p>"I sort of see it as being in charge of my own life," Kara continued. "Like, I don't have a say in the cards that I've been dealt, but I can still do what I want with them and find a way to make everything work out."</p><p> </p><p>The sentimental moment lasted for all of three seconds before it came to an abrupt end when Kara proceeded to flip the camera off.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you doing?” Lena questioned the weird action. </p><p> </p><p>Kara just laughed and slanted her hand down to the side a bit, revealing a third tattoo. It was the year 2003, in what looked to be Courier New font, written on the inside of her middle finger.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry, I always do that when I’m showing someone this one,” she joked, going to give the viewers a clearer view of the tattoo as well. “Alex has the same thing on her finger. It was my first one. I got it like a week after my eighteenth birthday. I knew I wanted my first to have a meaning, so I settled on 2003. It’s the year I was adopted. It was Alex’s idea to get it on our middle fingers.”</p><p> </p><p>Of course it was. There’s no way mild-mannered, barely legal Kara Danvers would’ve suggested anything of the sort. Although Lena had only met Alex Danvers once briefly, she could tell from the older Danvers' demeanor that she was the bad cop to Kara's good.</p><p> </p><p>“And lastly...” Kara continued, standing up. </p><p> </p><p>Lena stared up at her in confusion.</p><p> </p><p>“—I have my biological parents’ wedding anniversary date on my hip. It’s in roman numerals,” Kara said as she lifted up her shirt, and Lena choked as she tried to swallow.</p><p> </p><p>Choked because Kara had abs. Six - visible even while relaxed - abs. Lena wasn’t blind. She could tell that Kara had a bit of muscle. The way her shirt was a little too tight around the biceps, and how she held Lena’s hand that first night in a strong grasp. However, she never would've guessed that beneath the colorful button ups and wacky t-shirts Kara was hiding <em> those</em>. </p><p> </p><p>Kara had to have known what she was doing. The tattoo she was referring to was on her lower hip, near the waistband of her jeans. There was no need to lift her shirt <em>that </em>high. She either intentionally wanted to give everyone watching a heart attack, or was genuinely oblivious to the fact that her actions would do so.</p><p> </p><p>However, noting Kara's innocent expression, Lena concluded it was the latter.</p><p> </p><p>Kara looked down at Lena, dropping her shirt back into place as she did so. “You good?” She questioned, unaware of the flurry of inappropriate images that had just flashed through Lena's mind.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Lena coughed out, “just spit went down wrong.”</p><p> </p><p>“Here, let me get you some water.” Kara scooted by Lena and headed for the kitchen. She grabbed a glass from one of the overhead cabinets and then went to get a pitcher of water from out of the refrigerator. </p><p> </p><p>“What are they saying?” She asked Lena, referring to the people watching the livestream.</p><p> </p><p>Lena went to look, having finally managed to catch her breath properly. Giving the comments a quick once over, she chuckled to herself knowing she wasn’t the only one affected by the show Kara just inadvertently put on.</p><p>
  <br/>
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</p><p><b> <em>@smythe.siobhan </em> </b> <em> ok ik you guys saw what i just saw </em></p><p> </p><p><b> <em>@gaylemarsh302 </em></b> <em>damn kara is fucking ripped</em></p><p> </p><p><b> <em>@willyd </em> </b> <em> well hello there </em></p><p> </p><p><b> <em>@imra_from_the_future </em> </b> <em> HOLY SHIT </em></p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Yeah, Imra, <em>holy shit</em>.</p><p> </p><p>“They’re all just talking about your abs,” Lena responded.</p><p> </p><p>Kara laughed, carrying in the glass of water and handing it to Lena. “Don’t act like you guys haven’t seen my douchey, borderline thirst-trap gym pics I’ve posted,” Kara joked, sitting back down next to Lena.</p><p> </p><p>Gym pictures. Lena swallowed thickly. She definitely did <em> not </em> scroll far enough down Kara’s Instagram feed.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>decided to end it with something light for once. i always end these with some weird cliffhanger lol</p><p>have a nice day today (or night, depending on where you are)! leave a comment if you feel like it :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>director carr gives lena and jack a hard time on set, kara surprises lena at work, and twitter explodes in the wake of a new ship</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>just a heads up, i mention temperature, weight, and height in this chapter, so i'm just letting you all know that i'm meaning in Fahrenheit, feet, and pounds. the temperature i talk about is actually quite hot if you were to interpret it in Celsius, so beware if you use the metric system lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lena woke up Monday morning feeling like she could barely open her eyes. It was on days like these, with a call time of five in the morning, where she despised ever becoming an actress. Monday started the last week of filming for the movie. Only five more days to go before Lena had over a month off. A month where she could sleep in past eight, stay up past ten, and enjoy the free time in between. No more early morning location shoots, no more stumbling home at four in the morning after a long day of shooting, no more Snapper Carr. Just a month to herself. What more could Lena ask for?</p><p> </p><p>But, she still had a week before that could happen. Until then, Lena woke up Monday morning feeling like she could barely open her eyes. After ungracefully rolling out of bed, Lena made her way to her bathroom and fumbled through her morning routine. Her half awake, half sludge brain almost made her squirt hand soap onto her tooth brush instead of toothpaste. She caught herself right before she pressed on the hand pump, and then took a moment to collect herself fully before she tried again.</p><p> </p><p>When she finished up in the bathroom, Lena threw on a pair of sweats and a heavy, wool sweater. National City wasn't particularly known for being a cold place, the average low temperature during the winter months around fifty degrees at its worse, so Lena hadn't really packed for cold weather when she moved there. However, no one cared to mention to her that in the early mornings, National City became an ice box. Lena's seen temperatures as low as fifteen degrees outside during morning shoots. It still baffled her to this day how the same city would be freezing in the morning, and then nearly blistering by noon.</p><p> </p><p>After her first few weeks in National City, Lena went out and bought a bunch of thick winter clothes. Fuzzy socks, scarves, sweatpants, a puffy jacket, if it was made for snow, she bought it. </p><p> </p><p>Once she was dressed, Lena prepped her bag. It just had her essentials - a copy of her script, a portable phone charger with five adapters to use on different devices, the book she was currently reading, and a lunchbox with a cooling insulator to keep a few bottles of water cool. Once she brewed herself enough coffee to fit into her travel mug and she left some food and water out for Merlot, Lena hopped into her awaiting car Hector kept warm for her.</p><p> </p><p>Upon arriving to work, Lena was immediately ushered into the hair and makeup trailer by her P.A. Jess. Lena's first scene was with Jack on a makeshift apartment set. Nothing too serious, just talking on a couch for the better half of two hours, or until Snapper has decided he's satisfied with what they could manage as if Lena and Jack were mere drama students and not Academy Award nominees.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>"Come on, Carter. You have to let me come along. I'd be a good asset for the team."</p><p> </p><p>Jack stared softly at her, bringing his hand up to cup the back of Lena's head. Gently, he carded his fingers through her loose waves. Somewhere in the back of her mind, the intimate gesture was reminiscent of the same action Kara had done to her just the day before while snuggled up on her couch. </p><p> </p><p>"You know I can't let you do that. If you're out there in the field, my mind's gonna be on you the whole time when it should be on the mission." The sentiment was meant to be sweet, but there was something about the fingers running through her hair that made the whole thing seem condescending to Lena.</p><p> </p><p>"But, Carter-"</p><p> </p><p>"Sage, please," Jack sighed out, finally dropping his hand back into his lap. "Please, just listen to me. Just this once. You can't go."</p><p> </p><p>Lena gave him a look that best resembled disappointment. Just was she went to say her next line, Snapper called cut.</p><p> </p><p>"No, no, no! We have to scrap all of that," Snapper flailed his arms, signally the camera crew to reset their equipment. "Spheer, I get it, you're British, but can you please try better with the American accent. You're supposed to be from Medford, Oregon. What you're giving me right now is a kid from California who studied abroad in London and adopted the accent in the six months he spent there. Do better."</p><p> </p><p>Jack hung his head at the critiques that bordered on insults Snapper gave him. Lena reached out, running her hand along his shoulder. "I think you're doing fine," she reassured him. "Just make sure to shorten the vowel sounds and really pronounce the Rs."</p><p> </p><p>"Thanks," Jack smiled, his natural accent back in play. </p><p> </p><p>"Luthor!" Snapper shouted, drawing the actors' attention back to him, "You're not off the hook either. I thought you were Metropolis born and raised. Either you're the college kid adopting <em>Spheer's</em> accent, or you're secretly from across the pond, too. Fix it before the next take."</p><p> </p><p>Lena rolled her eyes, bringing a laugh from Jack. It never dawned on her that she even had an accent until she left Ireland. She was four at the time, she didn't understand the fact that other people spoke differently in other parts of the world. When she first got to America, one of the first things Lillian did was set Lena up for appointments with a speech-language pathologist.</p><p> </p><p>The Luthors were pristine and sleek and nothing but the utmost view of perfection. They had a family image to uphold; a reputation to protect. If word got out that Lionel Luthor had an affair with an Irish woman during his business trip to Belfast, the media would've had a hay day. If they found out that said woman had a child out of wedlock nine months later, their "family image" would've been tarnished. </p><p> </p><p>They made up a cover story for Lena's adoption. They were visiting the kids of Luthor General Children's Hospital and met a little girl who was recovering from a car accident. Unfortunately, the crash killed her mother, and her father had a tragic, albeit honorable, death overseas fighting for the country just a few months after her birth. Lionel and Lillian just could not let the little darling go into the foster care system, so they took her in themselves. They introduced her to their son Lex, and they all became one happy family. </p><p> </p><p>They erased all traces of Lena's past. No accent. No pictures of her mother. They even got rid of the teddy bear she had brought with her to America. </p><p> </p><p>Lena knew she was originally from Ireland, and she knew how her mother actually died, but she didn't know why the Luthors chose her. Adoption made the Luthors look <em>good </em>in the public eye. Saving an orphaned little girl from the overflowing foster system painted them as saints. But why go through the hassle of finding a child outside of the United States, and not even milking that for what it was worth? Why lie to the world about where they actually found her? Lena grew suspicious of her family as she grew older.</p><p> </p><p>She found out through Lex that Lionel was her biological father when she was fifteen. That she was the result of infidelity. The Luthors chose <em>her</em> because Lionel didn't want his own flesh and blood wandering about Ireland with no way to keep track of her. Lena's entire world shifted on its axis that day. She still remembered it vividly. Crisp air, overcast skies, dead leaves littering the streets. It was November fifteenth. Lena should've been at Mt. Helena with Andrea, but she was in Metropolis for her adoptive father's funeral.</p><p> </p><p>Lex dropped the bomb on her that her entire life had been a lie after they returned back to the Luthor Mansion. Lex was upset that Lionel let something so trivial like a heart attack take him out. He was by no means a good father, but that didn't mean Lex wanted him dead. Lex lashed out. He was thirteen when Lena came to live with his family. Lillian and Lionel deemed him mature enough to know the truth, and he swore to never speak a word of it to Lena. He had kept good on his promise, too, until the day of the funeral. </p><p> </p><p>Lena was shocked, but she couldn't say she was surprised. The Luthors were vile people, nothing like what was being shown of them in the media. She honestly should've saw it coming. Once she learned the truth, everything just clicked together. All of the pieces fell right into place. </p><p> </p><p>The puzzle was complete.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Lena was exhausted by the time she got back to her trailer, and it was only ten AM. She collapsed onto her couch, shutting her eyes in the hopes of sneaking a quick nap in before she had to be back in hair and makeup at eleven. She was just getting comfortable when Jess knocked rapidly on her door and invited herself in. </p><p> </p><p>"Miss Luthor! I'm sorry to disturb you, but we have someone at the lot gate by the name of Kara Danvers trying to get in. She said to tell you and that you would allow her in."</p><p> </p><p>Just like that, all of the exhaustion seeped from Lena, her eyes gaining back their sparkle. "Yes, Jess, please tell the security team to let her in. Send Miss Danvers straight to my trailer afterwards."</p><p> </p><p>Jess nodded and quickly made her way out of the trailer. </p><p> </p><p>Lena stood up and went to over to look in the vanity-type mirror she had. She gave herself a once-over, then settled on only running a brush through her hair to get out the tangles that had formed from Jack's hand. By the time she was finished, Lena heard a light knock on the trailer door. </p><p> </p><p>"Hey," Kara said giddily when Lena opened the door. She climbed up the rest of the stairs leading up and into the trailer. </p><p> </p><p>"Hey yourself," Lena smiled.</p><p> </p><p>Kara leaned down pressed a quick kiss to Lena's cheek, then began to look around the trailer. "Nice place you got here."</p><p> </p><p>"It's alright," Lena replied with a shrug. "Gets the job done. What's in the bag?"</p><p> </p><p>Kara was holding a crumbled white bag. The bag was completely nondescript, no signs of a brand name or logo. "Oh, this?" Kara held the bag up. When Lena nodded, Kara unfolded the top of the bag, reached in and pulled out a... was that a..?</p><p> </p><p>"I got you a baby cactus."</p><p> </p><p>Lena looked at the plant in question. A tiny, green cactus, fitted in an equally tiny terracotta pot. Glancing up at Kara, she gave her a bewildered look. </p><p> </p><p>"You don't like it?" Kara asked, her voice sounding dejected.</p><p> </p><p>Lena immediately perked up at the sight of Kara frowning. That just couldn't do. "No, no, darling, I love it," she smiled, reaching out to take the cactus in her own hands. "I'm just confused as to <em>why</em>."</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, well I woke up early because I wanted to get you roses, but the florist said a new batch of roses wouldn't be coming in until this afternoon. So, I got the next best thing," Kara explained, now beaming again.</p><p> </p><p>"The next best thing was a cactus?"</p><p> </p><p>"Well, no," Kara stated shyly, pushing her glasses up to rest properly on the bridge of her nose. "I really wanted to get you a bonsai tree. I even named one Tree Larson, but the lady said that some cats are fatally allergic to bonsai trees, and I just didn't want to take the risk with Merlot. That's when I moved to the cacti."</p><p> </p><p>Lena stared at Kara, finding only innocent sincerity in her eyes. She couldn't help the rumble of laughter that erupted from her. </p><p> </p><p>"You're laughing at me," Kara furrowed her brows.</p><p> </p><p>"I am," Lena nodded her head, placing the cactus on the counter in front of the mirror. She came back around and stood in front of Kara, snaking her arms around the back of Kara's neck. The height difference between the two forced Kara to bend down slightly, her face level with Lena's. "I am laughing at you because you are most adorable idiot I've ever met, Kara Danvers," Lena said, the words a ghostly whisper against Kara's lips. </p><p> </p><p>Lena pushed forward, capturing Kara's lips in a gentle kiss. Kara's hands found Lena's waist, effectively pulling Lena closer into her body. </p><p> </p><p>"Thank you," Kara mumbled against her mouth, then leant back in.</p><p> </p><p>"Miss Luthor- Oh! Oh, my gosh, I'm sorry!"</p><p> </p><p>Kara and Lena broke apart, but Jess' sudden intrusion gave them barely any time to untangle themselves from one another.</p><p> </p><p>Kara looked at Lena, a furious red blush had spread across her pale cheeks. She didn't even need to look in the mirror to tell that she was bearing the same fate. </p><p> </p><p>"I- um, Jess," Lena stuttered breathily. "I didn't even hear your knock."</p><p> </p><p>"That's because I didn't knock. I am so sorry, Miss Luthor. I just barged right in without permission. I swear it will not happen again!" Jess promised, practically pleading with Lena.</p><p> </p><p>"Jess, it's fine, really," Lena waved it off. Jess was a good assistant. She'd been with her for the past three years, joining her for every one of her work projects. She knew Lena inside and out. There was literally nothing Jess could do that would make Lena fire her, but Jess didn't need to know that. "What is it that you needed?"</p><p> </p><p>Jess let out a breath of relief. "Thank you, Miss Luthor. I came back because Miss Arias is here to see you. She claims it's urgent."</p><p> </p><p>"Please send her in, Jess." The second the words left Lena's mouth, Sam came stomping up the stairs and made a beeline for Lena, entirely unaware of Kara's presence.</p><p> </p><p>"Lena, have you picked up your phone in the last couple of hours, because you really should," Sam told her, foregoing any type of greeting. Lena looked over her friend's shoulder to her assistant for any clue at what Sam was getting at. Jess just shrugged and shook her head before making her exit.</p><p> </p><p>"Lena!" Sam snapped, and Lena quickly brought her attention back to Sam at the exclamation. "Listen to me, you are trending. T-R-E-N-D-I-N-G, trending. Number five in the US on Twitter, number three in Canada! You type in the letter L on Google and your name is the second thing to pop up in the popular searches list."</p><p> </p><p>Racking her brain for anything she could've done in the past twenty-four hours to cause her name to surge that much, Lena came up empty. This wasn't like the time she'd been spotted in downtown LA stumbling out of a gay nightclub at two in the morning, nor the time when she adopted Merlot because apparently people go crazy when celebrities get pets. What had Lena done to make the internet go crazy over her?</p><p> </p><p>"Why?" Is all she managed to ask Sam.</p><p> </p><p>Sam's jaw dropped. "Why?" She scoffed. "It's all that blonde bimbo's fault. The livestream you two did yesterday made the entire world ship you guys."</p><p> </p><p>Lena tilted her head in confusion. "What is a 'ship'-"</p><p> </p><p>"I don't care that she's like six feet tall, has a voice that's probably playing when you arrive at the gates of Heaven, and has <em>abs for days</em>, according to that text you sent me last night. She may be able to fucking bench press me, but Lena, I swear-"</p><p> </p><p>"Sam," Lena tried to cut in again, once again to be ignored.</p><p> </p><p>"—I swear I will hunt her down and kick her ass if she ever tries to use you for views again."</p><p> </p><p>"Use me for views? Sam what are you even talking-"</p><p> </p><p>"And don't get me started on the fact that she-"</p><p> </p><p>"—Is standing right over there."</p><p> </p><p>She paused, a quizzical look crossing her features like she wasn't sure what Lena had just said. "What?"</p><p> </p><p>"Sam, Kara has been standing four feet away from me this entire time," Lena said slowly. "Did you care to look around the room?"</p><p> </p><p>Kara gave a weak wave when Sam's eyes finally settled on her. "Hi, I'm Kara," she introduced herself, stepping forward to reach her hand out to Sam. They shared a quick handshake. "I'm guessing you are Sam Arias." </p><p> </p><p>Sam nodded her head slowly, still shell-shocked that she managed to rant to Lena about a person who was in hearing range without noticing. "Um, yeah," Sam choked out. She cleared her throat, "I'm sorry about that. I totally didn't see you standing there."</p><p> </p><p>"It's no worries, truly," Kara laughed. "And for the record, I would never use Lena for fame or anything like that. She offered to be on my livestream. Oh, and I'm only 5'8"."</p><p> </p><p>Sam gave her a toothy grin, then turned to Lena. "She never denied my statement of being able to bench press me," she whispered. Lena rolled her eyes, swatting at Sam's arm playfully. </p><p> </p><p>"Say, Kara, how much do you bench, anyway?" Sam asked, ignoring Lena's annoyed groan from next to her.</p><p> </p><p>Kara let out a breathy laugh at Sam and Lena's antics. "Only around a hundred and sixty on a good day," Kara answered nonchalantly, as if it wasn't impressive at all. "Excluding the bar."</p><p> </p><p>Turning back to Lena, Sam said softy, "Lena, that's like two hundred pounds with the barbell. She could <em>actually</em> bench us."</p><p> </p><p>"Will you stop fawning over Kara and explain to me why it's such a big deal that I'm trending?" Lena asked.</p><p> </p><p>Sam straightened up, speaking at her normal talking volume. "It's a big deal because people are going nuts over you two. Like I've seen photoshopped pictures, video edits, Lena's face in reaction memes, and even a fan fiction popped up on my feed. Like, what the hell?"</p><p> </p><p>"I'm not too worried about this," Kara spoke up. "I mean, it's all speculation on their end. It happens all the time with celebrities. And it's not like they're wrong. We are dating, aren't we?"</p><p> </p><p>Lena worried at her bottom lip. Sam tossed her a knowing glance. The two friends seemed to have an entire conversation with just their eyes.</p><p> </p><p>"Lena?" Kara called, nerves settling in.</p><p> </p><p>Lena let out a strangled sigh, "Yes, we are together, Kara. It's just, I don't want the entire world to know just yet."</p><p> </p><p>Feeling like she was intruding on what should be a private conversation, Sam began to make her way towards the door. "I'm gonna give you two some privacy." After the door closed, Kara turned back to Lena.</p><p> </p><p>"You want to keep things quiet, I get that."</p><p> </p><p>"But?"</p><p> </p><p>"There isn't one." Kara stalked towards Lena, returning her hands to her—what's now been confirmed between them—girlfriend's waist. "You don't want to let your fans know you are in a relationship right now. That's understandable, considering how fresh this is and how much of a status you have."</p><p> </p><p>"Thank you," Lena smiled. "You completely get it. It's like my entire life is being projected to the world all the time without my having a say. I don't want you mixed up in my mess. Not yet, at least. I want to keep you all to myself for the time being."</p><p> </p><p>"I like the sound of that," Kara smirked, leaning down for a chaste kiss.</p><p> </p><p>"And just so you know," Kara started after she pulled away, "We are a team now. A unit. Your problems are my problems, and vice versa. I'm ready to tackle the media whenever you're comfortable. Just say the word."</p><p> </p><p>Lena just nuzzled in closer to Kara. </p><p> </p><p>She really struck gold with this one.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hello beautiful peeps, hoped ya liked this one. i legit wrote this chapter so fast. like 1600 words in one sitting last night, then added a few more scenes today. that's so weird for me lol</p><p>également, aujourd'hui est ma mère's anniversaire, si joyeux anniversaire à elle :)</p><p>idk why I decided to write that in French, but oh well. comment if u want! they really make my day :)))</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>kara and lena have a serious discussion and then sam gives kara some advice</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>so i noticed that i use the past participle of "lean" a few times in this chapter and i've been writing "leant." i looked up whether or not this was grammatically correct and apparently it is and this version is used primarily in the UK. the funny part is, i'm American and when i speak, i say "leaned" not "leant." i just find it funny that "leant" is what comes naturally to me when i'm writing.</p><p>idk if any of that made sense lol, but i wanted to share my thoughts :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Ha! Lena, look at this one." Kara held her phone out in front of Lena's face.</p><p> </p><p>Lena looked up from where she was reviewing her script for the following day of work. Kara's phone was open to Twitter, a tweet from a fan on the screen.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p><strong><em>@lenapleaseloveme</em></strong><em>: i'd just like to thank to thank kara zorel danvers on this fine day. your abs are now my lock screen </em>😗✌️</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p><em><strong>@kdanvers</strong>: </em>😀</p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p>After taking a look at the tweet, Lena turned to see Kara smiling brightly at her. "Kara, why did you reply with a smiley face?"</p><p> </p><p>"I was saying you're welcome in emoji, Lena. It's a thing."</p><p> </p><p>Lena hummed, giving Kara an unconvinced look. "Yeah, I'm sure it is."</p><p> </p><p>Kara, not catching on to Lena's sarcastic response, just grinned gleefully and went back to scrolling on her phone. That is how their night had been going. They were sitting on Kara's couch together for the third time that week. Lena read her script, Kara read tweets, chuckled to herself, and apparently, replied to them as well. The people getting notifications that Kara had interacted with their thirst tweets were going to flip out.</p><p> </p><p>It was Thursday night. Friday would be the last day of filming for the entire movie. It left a bitter-sweet taste in Lena's mouth. Sure, she was beyond ready for a break, but she would still miss the cast and the crew, excluding Snapper Carr. This movie allowed for Lena and Jack to work together for the first time, giving them a professional relationship. Lena was grateful that she and Jack were already so close before they began filming. It made the intimate scenes shared between Carter and Sage that much more easier to do.</p><p> </p><p>After Friday, there would be a wrap party the following Saturday night. There would be drinks, dinner, speeches made from all the important behind the scenes people who brought the movie to life, and it was just a way for the cast to get together one last time before their time off. Everyone invited was allowed to bring a plus-one with them, which reminded Lena...</p><p> </p><p>"Would you like to go to the wrap party with me Saturday night?"</p><p> </p><p>Kara glanced over at Lena, turning off her phone in the process. "Wrap party?"</p><p> </p><p>"You know, a get-together for the cast and crew as a way of celebrating the end of filming," Lena explained, setting down her script.</p><p> </p><p>"I know what a wrap party is," Kara snorted, "I'm just a little surprised that you want me to come with you. Like, isn't that a little too... I don't know.. <em>Hollywood</em>? For me, at least."</p><p> </p><p>Lena furrowed her brows, "What do you mean 'Hollywood?'"</p><p> </p><p>Kara let out a heavy exhale. She adjusted her already perfectly fixed glasses, Lena noticed to be a habit of hers when she was unsure of herself or nervous. "I just mean that this is a party for a big name movie with big name actors. I'm just living paycheck to paycheck, singing on Instagram. Aren't I a bit out of your league?"</p><p> </p><p>"Are you- are you implying that because this is a movie wrap party, I wouldn't want you there?" Lena asked, with a tilt of her head. That made is seem like she was ashamed of Kara, embarrassed by her. Lena could never be.</p><p> </p><p>Kara's sheepish expression was all the answer she needed.</p><p> </p><p>"Kara, no. Why would you ever think that I wouldn't want to bring you somewhere because you're not some huge actor?"</p><p> </p><p>"I don't know," Kara shrugged, "Maybe it's just my own insecurities clouding my thoughts."</p><p> </p><p>Lena reached out, placing her hand on top of Kara's. "Darling, what insecurities?"</p><p> </p><p>"You're all talented, and cool, and successful, and I'm just some overgrown musical theater kid trying to keep up." Kara sighed and hung her head. "I still don't even know why you chose to go out with me. Why you're even here, on the rent-controlled side of town, in my apartment. Like, your movie that is being directed by freaking Snapper Carr is wrapping tomorrow, and you're sitting with me on my couch. Why?"</p><p> </p><p>Lena looked at Kara, <em>really </em>looked at her. Eyebrows furrowed, crinkle present, azure eyes glazed over with something next to uncertainty. Lena was afraid of this. She never wanted Kara to feel intimated or smaller than her because of her work. It was easy being overshadowed by your relation's notability. Lena lived through that her entire life. Always second best compared to Lex, in Lillian's eyes. She was dubbed the Luthor's Disappointment Child when the news broke that she dropped out of MIT. She never wanted Kara to feel the way she did when she first saw those words plastered over her face, front page of every magazine known to man.</p><p> </p><p>"Why not?" Lena countered, her question punctuated with a squeeze of her hand around Kara's. "Kara, trust me, if I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't. I wouldn't have gone out with you, and I certainly wouldn't have messaged you. But I did. And that says something, don't you think?"</p><p> </p><p>"I guess," Kara mumbled, still sounding dejected.</p><p> </p><p>"Hey," Lena called gently. She reached the hand that wasn't wrapped around Kara's out and under her chin, gently coaxing the blonde to look at her. Once their eyes met, Lena said, "Talk to me."</p><p> </p><p>"That still doesn't explain why," Kara mumbled. "There are so many women—women on your level—that would kill to be with you, yet you chose me."</p><p> </p><p>"I chose you," Lena repeated with a smile, moving her hand from Kara's chin up to cup her cheek. "I don't want those girls, Kara. All I want and all I need is sitting right in front of me. She's beautiful, she's talented, and she's who I choose to be with. That's all that matters."</p><p> </p><p>Kara let herself sink into Lena's touch. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of Lena's thumb running along her cheekbone. "You sure know how to make a girl feel special."</p><p> </p><p>Lena laughed and leant forward to press a kiss to Kara's forehead. "Words come easy with you." </p><p> </p><p>Humming, Kara took Lena's hand from her face, pecking her palm lightly. "Thank you. For reassuring me, I mean."</p><p> </p><p>"Always," Lena promised. "And I don't know if you've realized it, but all actors are overgrown theater kids, too. Though, I prefer the term <em>evolved</em>."</p><p> </p><p>"<em>Pfft</em>," Kara sounded, "I'm talking musical theater, Lena. Have any of your little actor friends played Peter Pan in a school musical before? I didn't think so."</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, you <em>have</em> to show me pictures of that."</p><p> </p><p>"Not a chance, Luthor."</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>"Oh, yeah, those are nice."</p><p> </p><p>"<em>Right</em>? I could wash my clothes on them."</p><p> </p><p>"Do you think she'd let you touch them?"</p><p> </p><p>"Sam!"</p><p> </p><p>"What? She <em>is</em> your girlfriend. You need to appreciate all of her assets."</p><p> </p><p>"I'm not going to ask her if I can touch her abs."</p><p> </p><p>"I would."</p><p> </p><p>Just as Lena was about to make a snippy retort about why she would not be following through with Sam's urges, the intercom from her penthouse to the security office crackled to life.</p><p> </p><p><em>"Miss Luthor, we have a Kara Danvers down here. Should we let </em> <em>her up?"</em></p><p> </p><p>Lena rushed to her door and pushed the call button on the com mount on the wall. "Yes, please send her up, Tony. While you're at it, go ahead and allow Miss Danvers full access to my floor."</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Will do, Miss Luthor. She's heading up now."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Alright, Sam," Lena walked back over to her, "Zip me up."</p><p> </p><p>When Sam kept her eyes glued down to Lena's phone, Lena snatched the device from her hands. "And will you stop staring at pictures of my girlfriend. That's weird."</p><p> </p><p>"Hey, you are the one with a folder on Instagram dedicated to her gym pics. Looks like you are the weirdo here," Sam countered, going to zip up the back of Lena's dress.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm allowed to have a folder of her photos. Like you said, she <em>is </em>my girlfriend."</p><p> </p><p>"That's a lot of smack talk for a woman whose nip-slip fate is in my hands right now," Sam quipped.</p><p> </p><p>"Am I good?" Lena asked, ignoring Sam's faux threat, knowing good and well her best friend would never actually let something like that happen to her on purpose. </p><p> </p><p>"Uh-huh," Sam answered once she finished clasping the tiny hook at the top of the zipper. Just then, there was a sharp knock at Lena's door. "Perfect timing, too."</p><p> </p><p>"Okay," Lena breathed, heading towards the door, "No making fun of Kara, no threatening Kara, and please, for the love of God, don't mention her physique in any way." </p><p> </p><p>"No promises."</p><p> </p><p>Lena's hand rested on the door handle, waiting to turn it. "Sam," she grumbled, the warning lilt to her tone making Sam throw her hands up in surrender. "Okay," Lena breathed out again and turned the knob.</p><p> </p><p>Kara stood on the other side, dressed to the nines and grinning widely. "Hi!"</p><p> </p><p>"Hello, darling. Come on in." Lena smiled, opening the door wider for Kara to walk in.</p><p> </p><p>"Darling? Kill me now."</p><p> </p><p>"Hi to you, too, Sam," Kara laughed, taking zero offense. </p><p> </p><p>"Don't mind her," Lena told Kara. "I'm just gonna grab my wristlet, then we can head out if you're ready."</p><p> </p><p>"Sounds good," Kara nodded. Lena leant up and placed a chaste kiss to the corner of Kara's mouth then made her way to her bedroom.</p><p> </p><p>When Lena disappeared into her bedroom, Kara took a moment to glance around her penthouse. High rise ceilings, modern appliances, and a sleek white color scheme accompanied an electric fireplace with a some fifty-inch tv mounted over top. Shiny ceramic tile covered the floor beneath her feet, the same shade of white as the rest of the furniture. Twisting to look behind her, Lena's kitchen was equally as immaculate. The marble backsplash with light beige accents complimented her cupboards well, adding a slight pop of color to an otherwise monochromatic apartment. Before Kara could follow the length of the overhead oven vent to see how high up it went, Sam cleared her throat.</p><p> </p><p>"Scoping out what you're gonna steal?"</p><p> </p><p>"What!" Kara squeaked, turning around so fast it was a miracle she didn't get whiplash. "No, I- I would <em>never</em> steal from Lena. I'm not like that, I swear! I've never even gotten detention before. Well, that's a lie, but it wasn't my fault! How was I supposed to know that we weren't allowed to take more than three milks during lunch?"</p><p> </p><p>"Woah, woah, woah, calm down before you run out of air," Sam crossed the room to place her hand on Kara's shoulder, "I was kidding."</p><p> </p><p>The immediate relief that washed over Kara's features at her admission almost made Sam feel guilty for even trying to joke with the girl. Lena had told her about the talk she had with Kara, her self-doubt being an a relationship with someone as famous as Lena.</p><p> </p><p>(She'd save the rest of her jokes for when Kara became more confident.)</p><p> </p><p>"Kidding, right," Kara exhaled heavily, cracking a forced smile. "Have the other people Lena's dated been this jittery?"</p><p> </p><p>Sam's lips drew a fine line as she thought back to Andrea. That was the last person Lena liked and that didn't go the way she would've preferred it to. Before Andrea had been Sara Lance. She and Lena dated for two weeks at most, both not being able to fully click with one another. However, Sara held the utmost of confidence and did not shy away from Sam's teasing at all. That's how it had been for all the years Sam knew Lena, really. She'd meet someone, go on a few dates, then end up never pursing a full relationship with them. Besides Andrea, Kara was the first person Sam had seen Lena actually fall for.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm gonna be honest with you and say no," Sam said, but that only made Kara get more nervous. "Hey, but that's not a bad thing. It means you really care about Lena and making sure she's comfortable. I like that."</p><p> </p><p>"Really?"</p><p> </p><p>"Yes, really," Sam smiled, squeezing Kara's shoulder before letting it go. "Want some quick advice?" </p><p> </p><p>Kara nodded her head eagerly.</p><p> </p><p>Sam heard the <em>click-clack</em> of Lena's heels gradually getting louder, so she leant in closer to Kara so Lena wouldn't hear. "If she's ever upset, let her touch your abs."</p><p> </p><p>Sam didn't even get the chance to properly appreciate Kara's gaping fish expression in all of its glory before Lena was back in the room.</p><p> </p><p>"Alright, are you ready to- Darling, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." Lena questioned, coming over closer to where Kara and Sam stood.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, she's good," Sam waved it off, "We were just talking about how fun that wrap party is going to be, weren't we, Kara?"</p><p> </p><p>Kara slowly nodded her head, eyes still glued on Sam and her mouth hung open.</p><p> </p><p>"<em>Okay</em>," Lena stretched the word, throwing Sam a suspicious glance. "Let's head on out." She grabbed Kara's hand and lead her towards the front door.</p><p> </p><p>As she was being pulled along by Lena, Kara looked back at Sam over her shoulder. Sam mouthed <em>"Show her the abs," </em>then winked and shot Kara a thumbs up. </p><p> </p><p><em>Golly</em>, this was going to be a long night.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know this chapter is kinda short, but i wanted to end it there so the entirety of the next chapter can be the wrap party. kara's gonna meet some fun new friends there </p><p>also idk why the thought of kara replying to very obvious thirst tweets with smiley faces and thumbs up emojis makes me full on cackle, but it does lol</p><p>thanks for reading! shoot me a comment if you wish to do so :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>the wrap party</p><p>(that's it, that's the summary)</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>sorry this chapter took so long to get out. i hit a complete roadblock when it came to some dialogue towards the middle. i could not get past it for the life of me. i still don't really like how it turned out, but what can you do?</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Lena</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>I put my cactus on the window sill in my room.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Kara</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>Did you think of a name yet</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Do I have to?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>YES!!</em>
</p><p><em>Lena you need to name it, it's part of the plant mom </em> <em>experience</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>And since when are you a plant mom expert?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I may or may not have a few succulents</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Wow, you have kids and you didn't even tell me. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>This is something you should've communicated before we started dating Kara</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Hypocrite!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You didn't tell me you have a son</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>??</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>Merlot, duh </em>🙄</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>No, I believe I made that clear before we even kissed.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Still you were supposed to let me know before we went out</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Is that not what I just said about you and your succulents?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>😖</p><p>
  <em>Touché </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>A smile spread across Kara's face as she read her and Lena's text thread from earlier in the week. Lena still hadn't named her cactus, but Kara wouldn't give up on her nagging until she was sure Lena did. She even gave her some name suggestions.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"How about Spike?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Too generic."</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>"</em> <em>Porkie? Short for porcupine."</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I don't want to think of meat every time I look at my cactus."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Ooh, Spikasaurus Rex?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"No."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Kara clicked her phone off and slid it into her wristlet. Hector said there were only a few more minutes to go, so Kara settled on taking in the sights of the city through the car window. It was nighttime. The skyscrapers and bundles of buildings were illuminated by bright, glaring lights. Next to her, she heard Lena shuffle against the leather seat, and a moment later, her fingers interlaced with Kara's.</p><p> </p><p>Turning her head, Kara watched as Lena continued to stare out of her own window. Warmth spread throughout her body. How did she get so lucky?</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>When they arrived at the wrap party—in a Bentley, off all things (Lena mentioned it was the "stealth edition" model, fit with a matte black finish, even on the hubcaps)—Kara immediately felt out of her element. Every guest arrived in equally as luxurious cars dressed in outfits Kara could only guess were made by high-end fashion designers. Kara held her wristlet close to her chest in an attempt to shield her dress from potentially judging eyes. It was ridiculous, she knew that, but she found the dress she was wearing in the back of her closet and every person she saw heading into the wrap party were dressed like it was the Met Gala. </p><p> </p><p>She was surprised that the dress still fit, considering she could remember buying it for a friend's wedding nearly three years ago. Come to think of it, Kara had to roll her shoulders back every few minutes to try and stop the tightened fabric from digging into her collarbones. </p><p> </p><p>"You alright?" Lena asked, coming to stand up next to Kara. Kara had been standing by the car for the past few minutes waiting for Lena to touch up her makeup. "You keep fiddling with your dress."</p><p> </p><p>"I'm fine," Kara answered, her eyes still glued to the entrance of the hotel the party was being held at.</p><p> </p><p>"Are you sure? If you're uncomfortable with being here we can leave and grab some dinner. Just say the word and Hector could take us anywhere."</p><p> </p><p>"Lena, I said I'm fine," Kara huffed. She finally tore her gaze away from in front of her to look down at Lena. She was met with Lena's signature raised eyebrow, a clear indication that her BS radar was going off the charts. "Okay, I'm not fine," Kara sighed out. "But it's not so much about being here, it's my dress. I didn't get the chance to go out and get something new to wear on such short notice, and it's kinda tight."</p><p> </p><p>Lena's features softened at Kara's admission. "Oh, darling, I'm sorry. I should've asked you about the wrap party earlier to give you more time to find something to wear."</p><p> </p><p>"It's fine, Lena, really," Kara waved off.</p><p> </p><p>"No, it's not. I want you to be comfortable." Lena reached out to run her hand up and down the expanse of Kara's back. "I'll tell you what, I will call my stylist tomorrow. I can set up an appointment for you. He can get your measurements, go over styles you like, whatever you want. More casual outfits, gowns, suits even, if you're into that?"</p><p> </p><p>A suit. The first time Kara wore a suit was at Alex's wedding reception. Kara remembered exuding a boosted air of confidence that night. It felt good to not be restricted to a form-fitting dress, and instead being able to move freely. However, that was around the time Kara began to go to the gym regularly, so she'd only gotten a few more wears out of it before the blazer began to feel snug.</p><p> </p><p>Kelly and Alex hired a tailor to get their outfits fitted and offered to pay for Kara and James as well; the perks of being a sibling of the bride. Kara had gone shopping for another suit since she outgrew her first, but none of the ones she found seemed to fit right. Lena's stylist could be the solution to her problem.</p><p> </p><p>"I like suits," Kara felt the need to say. "Thank you."</p><p> </p><p>"It's no problem," Lena smiled, stopping her hand on Kara's back. "And you look stunning, by the way. You wear that dress very well."</p><p> </p><p>Her dress was navy blue, the color accentuating her eyes well. Kara blushed at the compliment. "I didn't get the chance to mention it while we were with Sam, but that dress is...<em>wow</em>."</p><p> </p><p>When Lena opened the door to her penthouse and Kara first laid her eyes on a deep, plunging neckline and defined collarbones, she had to remind herself that staring wasn't polite. Even with her internal reminders, Kara found her gaze <em>drifting </em>every now and then.</p><p> </p><p>When both their cheeks were rosy, Lena grabbed her hand to lead them inside. Kara winced. "Wait, Lena, aren't people going to see us holding hands and think that we're together?"</p><p> </p><p>"I hate to burst your bubble, but this world is cursed with heteronormativity. If anyone caught us holding hands, they would just think we were good friends," Lena sighed, but she kept walking, hand-in-hand with Kara.</p><p> </p><p>"But you're an out lesbian, and I've been pretty vocal with my followers about being bi..."</p><p> </p><p>"I'm afraid that doesn't change anything in the eyes of the media. They can't ship"—she finally looked up what that term meant—"me with a man without looking like they're erasing my sexuality, but they can certainly choose to ignore talking about it all together," Lena explained. "But you don't have to worry. There's no press permitted tonight, and they're the only people who would care. Everyone inside are all actors. They know what it's like to have a magnifying glass on their lives, too. They won't say anything about us."</p><p> </p><p>Kara nodded along to Lena's explanation. If you don't like your life being on blast, you wouldn't purposely put someone else's out there. That made sense.</p><p> </p><p>"So, I can tell people here we're together?"</p><p> </p><p>Lena tilted her head from side to side in a mental debate. "I wouldn't say that..." she said, trailing off as motion-sensor glass doors slid open for them. "Just, if we were caught in a compromising position, we wouldn't have to worry too much about anyone saying anything."</p><p> </p><p>"But if anyone asks?"</p><p> </p><p>"We met through, um, a mutual friend."</p><p> </p><p>"Mutual friend. Got it."</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The first thing Kara noticed when they entered the hotel ballroom was not the music vibrating the floorboards, or even the amount of faces she recognized from movies and tv shows she's seen before. No, Kara eyes zeroed in on the waiters, more specifically, the hors d'oeuvres they were balancing on their trays.</p><p> </p><p>One of the waiters must've noticed their arrival and he began to make his way toward them. "May I offer you a dumpling?" He asked, lowering his raised arm so the tray would be eye level with Kara and Lena.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, no, thank you," Lena declined politely as Kara eagerly went to grab two, mumbling something along the lines of <em>how many can I take.</em></p><p> </p><p>"Um, as many as you'd like," the man answered, a disconcerted look on his face.</p><p> </p><p>After taking advantage of the unlimited dumplings (Kara took <em>four</em>), they were shown to their assigned seating area. There were four people per each table. The guests were allowed to walk around and mingle, but they had to go back to their seats for dinner and during the speeches. </p><p> </p><p>Lena let out a breath of relief when she read the name card of who they would be sharing a table with. It was Barry Allen. Lena had never worked with Barry before the movie, but she she was familiar with his work. He was a seasoned actor, having had his acting debut fresh out of college with minor roles in a variety of television sitcoms. His big break came when he landed the role of Jay Garrick in a tv show following the superhero the Flash. The show ran for four seasons and Barry began to migrate over to the big screen after its finale.</p><p> </p><p>In the movie, Barry's character Sebastian was the tech support for Carter's team. He and Lena's character were supposed to be close friends and she actually went to him to try and get in on the big mission that she wasn't supposed to go to (spoiler: he snuck her in). </p><p> </p><p>Lena and Barry spent quite some time together on set, so they grew to have a nice relationship between them. She would happily spend her evening with him over someone like Oliver Queen, the resident playboy.</p><p> </p><p>Barry's plus-one was listed as Iris West-Allen, Lena knew to be his wife. She'd heard enough about Iris to write a biography on the woman. Every chance he got, Barry talked about his wife and something she had done the night before. No matter how repetitive their conversations got, Lena found it adorable that he gushed about her so much. </p><p> </p><p>"No flipping way," Kara squeaked, her words sounding garbled because of the <em>entire </em>potsticker she had just stuck in her mouth.</p><p> </p><p>Lena chuckled at her excitement, "You like Barry's movies?"</p><p> </p><p>"No," Kara responded quickly, but went to elaborate upon seeing Lena's confused expression. "I like his stuff—" she paused to swallow, "—I'm just excited because I haven't seen Barry in forever."</p><p> </p><p>"You know Barry?" Lena asked, furrowing her brow at that new bout of knowledge.</p><p> </p><p>"Do I know Barry?" Kara gawked like she took offense to that question. "Barry and I were like, the crap in college. He transferred to NCU during junior year, and we instantly hit it off. We even had leading roles together in the spring musical once."</p><p> </p><p>Lena couldn't decide which piece of information intrigued her the most: the fact that she'd been spending sixteen hours a day for the past three months with a guy that knew Kara, finding out that Barry could sing, or Kara's attempt at not cursing. Before she got the chance to pick, a loud voice erupted from behind her.</p><p> </p><p>"Do my eyes deceive me, or is that Kara Danvers?"</p><p> </p><p>Kara's face split into a grin. "Barry!" She placed her two remaining potstickers down onto the table and went to go meet Barry. </p><p> </p><p>Lena turned around to see them in a tight embrace, Barry nearly lifting her up off of the floor. Lena threw a smile at the woman she recognized to be Iris from the countless pictures Barry had shown her. </p><p> </p><p>"It's been years," Kara mused once they broke apart, her hands still resting on his biceps.</p><p> </p><p>"Way too long," Barry agreed. He backed away, his arm sliding around Iris' waist. "You remember Iris, right?"</p><p> </p><p>"Of course. Hi, Iris," Kara smiled, "Congratulations on getting married, by the way. I saw the pictures everywhere when you guys released them."</p><p> </p><p>"So, who are you here with, Kara," Iris asked. "Based on that whole show you two just put on, I'm assuming you weren't in the movie."</p><p> </p><p>Kara adjusted her glasses with a laugh. "Gosh, no. I can't act. Lena brought me along as her plus-one."</p><p> </p><p>"Oh?" Barry sounded, mildly surprised. He went around Kara and gave Lena a brief side-hug. "I saw you standing back there but I didn't think you two would be together. I've never heard you talk about Kara before. Is this a recent thing?"</p><p> </p><p>Lena winced. She wrung her hands together, her eyes going from Barry to Kara. With an apologetic expression that only Kara would be able to read, she said, "Kara and I, we aren't together romantically. Just friends."</p><p> </p><p>"Yep," Kara agreed hesitantly. "But, like, good friends. We know each other well. It's totally platonic, though. We're gal pals, if you will." As soon as the words left her mouth, Kara cringed.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Gal pals? Really?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Kara had the tendency to overcompensate when she was lying. It's what made her a terrible liar. She would really try and sell the lie, grasping at any straw she came across to cover every base. Her lies were almost always transparent, those who knew her being able to see right through them. </p><p> </p><p>In retrospect, she probably should've told Lena about her inability to tell a lie before she agreed to hiding their relationship from the public eye.</p><p> </p><p>Barry was quick to ramble out an apology, nearly rivaling Kara and her babbling. One could only imagine how the two of them acted in college together. Constant jumbled sentences with no meaning and saying so much but yet nothing at all. It sounded like torture, albeit innocent and mildly adorable.</p><p> </p><p>"It's no worries, Barry," Lena assured him with a smile. "I'm sure you weren't the only one thinking that."</p><p> </p><p>Lena, Barry, and Iris jumped into conversation after Barry apologized once again (and Lena dismissed him, <em>once again</em>). Kara found herself tuning the three of them out, focused instead on a realization that burrowed its way to the forefront of her mind. She took a sweep of the room. The ballroom was littered with guests, some thirty, forty people. That meant forty sets of eyes examining, analyzing everything they saw. </p><p> </p><p>These people were actors, trained to read between the lines on their script and build a personality for the characters they portrayed. They worked with the concept of make believe everyday. Fake stories, fake identities, fake relationships. For people who were surrounded by so much pretending, they surely couldn't tell what was real, even though it was standing right in front of them.</p><p> </p><p>Lena was right about what she had said to Barry. People assume. They take one glance at you, and then they think they know you. But they don't. They may have their assumptions or their hunches about her and Lena, but no one really knew about them except for... well, them.</p><p> </p><p>"...Kara."</p><p> </p><p>Kara's blurred, double-vision slid and synced up when her name was called, effectively breaking her from her trance. "Huh? Oh, um, what did you say?"</p><p> </p><p>"I asked if you could grab me a drink from the bar," Lena repeated, her brow scrunched. </p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, okay, I can do that," Kara nodded in response. "What would you like?"</p><p> </p><p>"A vodka martini. Dirty."</p><p> </p><p>Kara headed off in the direction of the bar. It was free to all of the guests, and said guests were certainly taking advantage of the opportunity—not like Kara could talk. There were a good amount of partygoers huddled around the bar, but not enough to be bothered by it. A bartender took notice of Kara's arrival and shot her a smile.</p><p> </p><p>"Hi, there. What can I get you?"</p><p> </p><p>"A vodka martini."</p><p> </p><p>"Dirty, wet, or dry?"</p><p> </p><p>"Dirty, please," and then on a whim, "And do you have club soda?"</p><p> </p><p>"Mmhmm," the bartender hummed.</p><p> </p><p>"I'll get one of those, too."</p><p> </p><p>"Coming right up, but I'm sure you've noticed we're kinda busy at the moment. Might take a few minutes for your drinks."</p><p> </p><p>Kara waved off her warning. "That's alright. I'm in no rush."</p><p> </p><p>As the woman went to start on some drinks, Kara tapped her fingertips against the countertop. It started off as a mindless fidget to pass time, but Kara soon found a beat flowing within her movements. She drew her lips together, humming a coinciding tune that was inaudible to everyone around her because of the volume in the room. Lost in her own rhythm, Kara failed to sense the presence that came up next to her.</p><p> </p><p>"Pretty nice party," a voice mused. </p><p> </p><p>Kara turned at the sudden intrusion. To her right was a man. He was about six feet in height, had a muscular build and broad shoulders that could be seen even with his blazer overtop. His eyes were a beautiful greenish-blue color, but nowhere near the beauty of Lena's. He had the beginnings of a beard and short, almost spiky brown hair. Presumably, a buzzcut growing out. The suit he wore didn't have a tie, and the top two button were left undone. In his breast pocket was a dark green pocket square, a capital Q stitched into it.</p><p> </p><p> He was handsome, Kara couldn't deny that, even if his looks were rather conventional. </p><p> </p><p>"I guess," Kara sighed after taking a moment to observe the man.</p><p> </p><p>"You guess?" he teased, chuckling.</p><p> </p><p>"I would change the music," Kara answered. "This jazzy, instrumental stuff they're playing is nice and all, but I think something with more energy would really boost the vibe in here."</p><p> </p><p>"And what would you suggest?"</p><p> </p><p>"Maybe some Britney Spears-" Before Kara could even finish her sentence, the man was already grimacing at the name. "What? What's wrong with Britney?" She asked.</p><p> </p><p>The man put his hands up in surrender, "Nothing, nothing," he swore. "My little sister used to play her music <em>all the time</em> when we were younger. The idea of one of her songs playing here is a little repellent to me."</p><p> </p><p>Kara gawked. "Nope! No, no, no. I cannot talk with someone who can't listen to Britney with me."</p><p> </p><p>"I never said I couldn't listen to her," he corrected, "I would just need a pair of earplugs."</p><p> </p><p>Kara laughed at his honesty as the man grinned. </p><p> </p><p>"Oh, where are my manners," the smile on his face faded away, "My name is Oliver Queen." </p><p> </p><p>Kara took his outstretched hand in her own, giving it a shake. If Oliver ran his thumb across the back of Kara's hand, she didn't seem to notice. "I'm Kara... Danvers. Kara Danvers. It's nice to meet you, Oliver."</p><p> </p><p>"Likewise," he smiled. </p><p> </p><p>The same bartender that took Kara's order came back over. "Good evening, sir. What can I get you?"</p><p> </p><p>It took Oliver a few seconds to break his gaze from Kara, but his smile stayed ever-present on his face as he ordered. "I'll have what she's having," he replied, tilting his head in Kara's direction.</p><p> </p><p>"The dirty martini or the club soda?"</p><p> </p><p>Oliver's features contracted into a disgusted expression. "I'll just take whiskey neat."</p><p> </p><p>"Rude," Kara scoffed, though playful and not scornful. "It's not for me, but you can drink whiskey but not a martini?"</p><p> </p><p>"I have nothing against martinis, I just don't like them dirty. Olives are disgusting," Oliver explained. "And so is club soda."</p><p> </p><p>Kara looked taken aback by his comment. "How can club soda be disgusting? It literally doesn't have a taste."</p><p> </p><p>"It tastes like seltzer water, and that has the foulest taste of any drink I've ever had," Oliver countered.</p><p> </p><p>Audibly gasping, Kara shook her head. "You better change the subject right now, or I'll be forced to walk away from you and your unsophisticated palate."</p><p> </p><p>"Okay, alright," Oliver laughed, sparking a giggle from Kara. "Who are you here with, Kara?"</p><p> </p><p>Kara's laugh died in her throat. <em>Please go back to insulting club soda.</em></p><p> </p><p>Kara shifted from one leg to the other, suddenly a heavy weight on her shoulders. Her cheeks burned and her dress felt all too tight again. </p><p> </p><p>"I- I, um," Kara stuttered. She cursed herself for sounding like a sputtering idiot. Closing her eyes, Kara sighed, gathering herself. </p><p> </p><p>"She's here with me."</p><p> </p><p>Oliver's smile fell, his lips forming a fine line. His eyes locked onto something—or <em>someone</em>, rather—behind Kara. </p><p> </p><p>Kara didn't even need to turn around to know who was behind her. She could recognize that voice anywhere. </p><p> </p><p>"Lena." Oliver nodded curtly, his tone sounding much stiffer than it had when he was talking to Kara.</p><p> </p><p>"Oliver," Lena returned the gesture. She walked a few steps closer to Kara, surprising the blonde by linking arms with her. "I just came over to see what the hold up was."</p><p> </p><p>She said it innocently enough, but Kara could tell there was something lying beneath her words. An emotion yet to be explored between the two of them, or maybe a thinly veiled patience for Oliver Queen? Perhaps a mix of both?</p><p> </p><p>"There's a lot of people waiting for their drinks, <em>Lena</em>. Your martini is going to take a few minutes."</p><p> </p><p>Kara furrowed her brows at the bite behind his words, but it clearly didn't shock Lena. She tightened her grip on Kara's arm, tugging on it slightly.</p><p> </p><p>"We should head back to our seats, Kara. They're going to be starting with the appetizers soon."</p><p> </p><p>"But the drinks-"</p><p> </p><p>"They will be serving wine with the appetizers," Lena asserted, speaking sharply. "Let's go."</p><p> </p><p>"Lena, why so controlling?" Oliver questioned smugly. "If she wants to stay and wait for her drink, she can stay and wait for her drink."</p><p> </p><p>His words made Lena's last nerve snap. From the moment she first saw Kara talking to Oliver by the bar, she felt like a tightly wound coil, just ready to spring out. His disgustingly patronizing tone was her last straw.</p><p> </p><p>Lena knew her next move was petty and even quite desperate, but she needed to get Kara away from Oliver. </p><p> </p><p>She turned to Kara, a pleading look in her eye. Keeping one arm wrapped around Kara's, she took her other hand and splayed it across Kara's stomach. For the sake of her plan, she tried to ignore the hardness she felt underneath her hand; the way Kara's muscles would shift and flex with every breath she took. </p><p> </p><p>"<em>Darling</em>," Lena drawled, leaning forward. "Please come back and sit down," she mumbled into the base of Kara's neck, though loud enough that Oliver would be able to hear. Tilting her head up, she punctuated her plea with a kiss to her pulse point. Pulling back, Lena felt a surge of pride course through her veins when a wine-colored lipstick stain was left on Kara's skin. Lena even allowed herself a moment to marvel at the feeling of Kara's tense abdomen when the latter stiffened at the unexpected kiss.</p><p> </p><p>Returning her wandering hand to its previous position on Kara's arm, Lena's eyes reconnected with Oliver's. Gone was his smugness and his arrogance. Instead, Oliver wore a scowl. </p><p> </p><p>"Let's go, Kara. We don't want to keep Barry and Iris waiting," Lena said, dragging a dumbfounded Kara behind her.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Later that evening as Lena settled comfortably into bed, she grabbed her phone and sent off a short message.</p><p> </p><p><strong>To Sam</strong>: <em>I touched them!!</em></p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i actually really like oliver's character on arrow, but i thought it would be fun to play with the idea that he and lena have beef lol</p><p>thanks for reading! comment if ya want</p><p>(if you need a visual, the outfits kara and lena are wearing are seen in episode 3x12, featuring The Dress™)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>flashback to kara and lena getting home after the wrap party, a lunch date, and some... other thing that i'm not gonna spoil in the summary</p><p>(also i recasted terminator because i can)</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i listened to kiwi by harry styles for the first time and i found a parallel to this story in the lyrics </p><p>"When she's alone, she goes home to a cactus<br/>In a black dress, she's such an actress"</p><p>i just thought that was funny lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kara's back was met with the hardness of Lena's penthouse door as she was pushed up against it. The dull wave of pain caused from the sudden action was drowned out by the feeling of Lena's mouth on hers. Her arms snaked around Lena's waist, pulling her girlfriend closer until heir bodies were flush with one another. Lena's tongue darted out, flicking Kara's bottom lip, asking for permission. With a moaned acceptance, Lena followed through. At the first brush of Lena's tongue against hers, Kara was reeling.</p><p> </p><p>Her mind tried to figure out how they even ended up there. After Lena's whole scene with Oliver, which the <em>entire </em>ballroom witnessed, if the stunned faces were anything to go by, they sat down for dinner. Kara was never one to turn down food, but anyone would be temporarily paralyzed if Lena Luthor pulled something like that for them. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Are you alright, darling?" Lena asked, a smirk hidden from behind the brim of her wine glass.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Um, y-yeah," Kara stuttered. "Why do you ask?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"You're shaking."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Kara looked down at her hand. The wine in the glass she held in her trembling hand was dangerously close to sloshing over the edge. "Oh," she sounded, and sat the drink down on the table.</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>Lena smiled devilishly. "Good," she purred, "You wouldn't want your wine spilling onto your plate. Bread isn't good when it's </em>wet<em>."</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Kara gulped.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The rest of the night had been filled with sexual innuendos from Lena. It wasn't like Kara was hiding how much it affected her. She couldn't. Every time Lena said something even remotely hinting towards something <em>else</em>, a furious, red blush would make its way across Kara's cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>In order to try and combat the blood rushing to her face, Kara continued to down glass after glass of Merlot (in her buzzed state, she found the coincidence hilarious). Her hope was to be able to blame her flustered-ness on how much she drank. Of course Lena could see right through that.</p><p> </p><p>When Hector pulled around to the front of the hotel at the end of the night, both Lena and Kara were a little worse for wear. Lena had a better handle over herself, but Kara, being ever the lightweight, all but fell into the backseat of Lena's Bentley. Kara remembered Hector laughing at her stumble, sloppy kisses, and wandering hands, but the rest of the ride was a blur. If she was being honest with herself, Kara couldn't even tell you how she went from the car to getting pushed into Lena's door.</p><p> </p><p>Kara gave up on trying to clear her memories when Lena's lips began to trail down her neck. Kara let her head fall back against the door, opening herself up for Lena. Lena stopped at the base of her neck, nibbling for a moment, then soothing the sensitive area with her tongue. </p><p> </p><p>So lost in the sensations, Kara almost forgot one <em>very </em>important thing.</p><p> </p><p>"Lena," Kara panted.</p><p> </p><p>Lena, mistaking her concern for pleasure, continued her ministrations. </p><p> </p><p>"Lena," Kara called again, "Lena, baby, stop."</p><p> </p><p>Lena immediately stopped. She pushed herself away from Kara, her eyes widened in fear. "Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?"</p><p> </p><p>"No, no, you're okay," Kara rushed to assure her. "I just... we need to stop."</p><p> </p><p>"Is everything alright?" Lena asked, still worried she took things too far.</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah," Kara nodded, sounding breathless. Her chest heaved as she took in heavy breaths. "I'm assuming that was going to lead to.. to um, sex?"</p><p> </p><p>"That was my hope, yes." Lena admitted. "Is that a problem for you?"</p><p> </p><p>"I wanted that, too. It's just that this would be our first time together and-" Kara stopped talking, hanging her head.</p><p> </p><p>Lena's brow furrowed. "And what? What's wrong, darling?"</p><p> </p><p>Kara looked back up, not quite meeting Lena's gaze. She smiled sheepishly, "I don't know if you've not.. noticed, but I'm kinda, a little drunk right now."</p><p> </p><p>Lena grinned. "I'm aware," she chuckled.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm a bit of a light... weight. A lightweight. And if this is gonna be our first, I wanna remember it in the morning, at least." </p><p> </p><p>Kara hiccuped and Lena's amused grin turned into a soft smile. She inched closer and cupped Kara's face in her hands. "Thank you for telling me."</p><p> </p><p>Kara's eyes shut as she let out a sigh of relief. "So you're not mad?"</p><p> </p><p>"Darling, why on earth would I be mad?" Lena questioned. "We're communicating with each other. We're on the same page. That's all that matters. I would hate for you to be uncomfortable during our first time."</p><p> </p><p>"I probably won't even remember this tomorrow," Kara giggled, clearly still feeling the effects of the alcohol.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, you'll remember," Lena smirked.</p><p> </p><p>"And how do.. do you know that?"</p><p> </p><p>"Your neck is like five different shades of red and purple right now."</p><p> </p><p>"Lena!" Kara squeaked. She grabbed at the side of her neck. "I have lunch with my sister and Kelly tomorrow. Alex is gonna bully me."</p><p> </p><p>"Use concealer, love." Lena smiled. "Why don't you take a shower to try and sober up a little, and then we can cuddle up and watch a movie? How does that sound?"</p><p> </p><p>"Amazing," Kara beamed.</p><p> </p><p>"Okay, the bathroom is in my room and to the right. I'll try to find some pajamas that might fit you and bring them in there in a minute." </p><p> </p><p>Kara leant down and lazily pecked Lena's lips one last time, then headed off in the direction Lena told her.</p><p> </p><p>Safe to say, that was not how Lena expected her night to go. She was fully prepared to take her and Kara's relationship to the next level, but she understood and respected what Kara wanted (though, she knew she would definitely need to take a cold shower after Kara was finished in the bathroom).</p><p> </p><p>Lena padded into her bedroom and headed straight for the the top left drawer on her dresser. That drawer was full of Sam's clothes she'd left behind at Lena's penthouse over the years.</p><p> </p><p>She found a cast and crew t-shirt from a movie Sam had a supporting role in a few years ago and a pair of plain, gray sweatpants. It was the best "sleepwear" Lena could find. She hoped the clothes would fit, seeing that Sam was considerably taller than herself, and there was no way Kara could wear anything of hers. </p><p> </p><p>Folding up the clothes, Lena went to place them next to the sink. When she entered the bathroom, the entire room was foggy with steam. She was hit with a wave of hot air. It felt thick to walk through. Lena was one to indulge in a relaxing, hot shower here and there, but from the increased humidity level, the temperature of the water Kara was showering in had to be past the boiling point.</p><p> </p><p>"Don't melt in there," Lena jokingly called out, but received no response. At first Lena thought it was because of running water, but upon walking closer to the cloudy glass shower door, Lena heard Kara singing.</p><p> </p><p><em>Cameras are </em> <em>flashin' while we're dirty dancin'</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>They keep watching, they keep watching</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Feels like the crowd is saying</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Gimme, gimme more</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Gimme more</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Gimme, gimme more</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Lena couldn't help the laugh that bursted out of her. While a bit off key, Kara was imitating Britney's signature "baby" voice quite well for someone three sheets to the wind. </p><p> </p><p>Kara finished her shower a whole forty minutes later. Lena was sure her water bill would be through the roof, but if it meant Kara spending more nights at her place, she couldn't find it in herself to care. </p><p> </p><p>After getting Kara into bed, Lena handed her the remote to her tv.</p><p> </p><p>"Pick whatever you want to watch. I have Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, anything," Lena offered.</p><p> </p><p>"Do you have caleb?" Kara slurred; from the alcohol or exhaustion, Lena couldn't tell.</p><p> </p><p>Lena frowned, "Caleb?" She questioned, the confusion in her tone obvious.</p><p> </p><p>"Cable." Kara corrected herself, leaning back into the pillows Lena propped up for her. "I wanna watch SNL."</p><p> </p><p>Lena reached out, carding her fingers through Kara's slightly damp hair. "I don't have cable, but I think Hulu has a few seasons, if you want to watch older episodes?"</p><p> </p><p>"Okay," she nodded, throwing Lena a dopey, dazed smile.</p><p> </p><p>Yep, it was definitely exhaustion.</p><p> </p><p>When Lena finished up with her own shower fifteen minutes later, Kara was out cold. The remote was still held loosely in her grasp, and a James Franco monologue was playing on a low volume. Smiling, Lena gently took the remote and turned off the tv. After checking the locks and flicking off all the lights, Lena crawled into bed, careful not to jostle Kara too much.</p><p> </p><p>She settled a safe distance from her girlfriend, not wanting to wake her up. On a whim, she grabbed her phone off the nightstand and pulled up Sam's contact.</p><p> </p><p><strong>To Sam</strong>: <em>I touched them!!</em></p><p> </p><p>Silently chuckling to herself, Lena turned off her phone and lied down. She closed her eyes, the day's events finally catching up to her. Just as she began to drift off, she felt the bed dip as Kara shuffled over and threw her arm across Lena's waist. She craned her neck, pressing a kiss to Lena's jaw.</p><p> </p><p>"Good night, darling," Lena whispered, interlacing her fingers with Kara's that rested on her stomach. </p><p> </p><p>"Night," Kara mumbled back. "Love you."</p><p> </p><p>Lena's eyes shot open.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>It felt like it took Lena hours to fall asleep after Kara's impromptu love confession. The tired ache in her bones and the heaviness of her eyelids disappeared the moment the words left Kara's mouth. She nearly worked herself into a frenzy trying to figure out what had happened. Did Kara really say that she loves Lena, or was it just her overworked brain conjuring up what she wanted to hear? If Kara did say it, did she actually mean it? She was drunk, it could've just stumbled out with no meaning behind it whatsoever. </p><p> </p><p>She tried to think of what Sam would tell her. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Well, you know, drunk words are just sober thoughts."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The logical side of her brain told her no. The sentiment was ridiculous. Yes, people were more loose-lipped when intoxicated, but that didn't necessarily mean they spoke their true thoughts. </p><p> </p><p>Then, the emotional side kicked in. Her inner hopeless romantic came out and told her <em>yes</em>. Yes, Kara did love her. She literally just told her that! </p><p> </p><p>(And Lena did end up meeting Kara because of a drunken confession on her end...)</p><p> </p><p>Her heart fluttered at the notion. Kara loved her? That was something she never thought she would ever experience. Kara was a good person- scratch that, a <em>great</em> person, and Lena was... well, Lena. Was she deserving of love from someone like Kara?</p><p> </p><p>She must've fallen asleep around the time of that mental debate because she never came up with an answer. That was the least of her worries, though, because she woke up to an empty bed. She sat up and looked around her room. Kara wasn't in sight.</p><p> </p><p>"Kara?" Lena yelled out, then cursed herself for being so loud. Kara was most likely hungover with a pounding headache. Her yelling would make that worse. </p><p> </p><p>She slipped out of bed and went to check the bathroom, only to find it empty. Lena walked out to the living room. Nothing. </p><p> </p><p>"Kara?" She called out again, quieter. "Are you here?"</p><p> </p><p><em>God, I probably scared her</em> <em>off</em>, she thought. <em>She woke up and realized that this was all a mistake, and then she left.</em></p><p> </p><p>Lena was about to call down to Tony in the lobby to see if he'd seen Kara running for the hills when her eyes caught a flash of white on her glass coffee table. Furrowing her brows, she walked over to see what it was. </p><p> </p><p>It was a piece of a printer paper, marked with Kara's scribbly handwriting. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Morning, beautiful!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You looked too peaceful, I didn't want to wake you. I have lunch @ noon with Alex, Kelly, and Jay, so I decided to head on out. I'll call you later after I leave them. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Have a great day today!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>- K &lt;3</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>PS: Happy 1 week anniversary of our first kiss!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>PPS: I'll return the clothes you lent me after I wash them.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>PPPS: NAME YOUR CACTUS!!</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>A toothy grin split across Lena's face. All the reassurance she needed in a simple paragraph. No, her girlfriend didn't run away, but she was a dork, and that just made Lena love her more.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Kara unbuckled her seatbelt and pushed open the passenger side door. "Thanks for the ride, Mr. Hillard. I really appreciate it."</p><p> </p><p>"Anything for my favorite passenger," the older man smiled warmly. "Would you like me to pick you up, as well?"</p><p> </p><p>"If you're still driving and in the area, yeah, that'd be nice," Kara replied as she stepped out of the car. "If not, I can always get another driver."</p><p> </p><p>"Do any of your other drivers carry fruit snacks in their glove box?" Mr. Hillard questioned, his voice laced with amusement. </p><p> </p><p>Kara cocked an eyebrow, "If I'm not mistaken, it sounds like you're jealous that I'm catching rides with other people."</p><p> </p><p>"Me, jealous? Not in a million years, Danvers," he joked. "But it would be nice to hear that you actually got your license one of these days."</p><p> </p><p>"I do have my license, I just don't have a car," Kara defended herself. </p><p> </p><p>"And why is that?"</p><p> </p><p>"A tree crashed into my last one."</p><p> </p><p>"A tree crashed into your-"</p><p> </p><p>"Okay, okay, I crashed into the tree," Kara interjected. "Think about this, if I got a new car, how would I be able to support you?"</p><p> </p><p>"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Mr. Hillard waved her off, laughing. "You better head on over. I think you've got the family waiting for you."</p><p> </p><p>Kara turned her head to see who Mr. Hillard was referring to. Alex was standing by an outdoor eating table, hands firmly planted on her hips. Kelly was seated on one of the benches with Jay sitting on her lap. He was playing with a toy hammer. Kara huffed out a breath upon seeing the toy. She <em>hated </em>that hammer. Every time he hit it on something, a loud squeak would sound out.</p><p> </p><p>While Kara despised its existence, Jay loved the thing. He brought it everywhere. Kara couldn't even imagine how Kelly and Alex dealt with the constant screeching on a day to day basis. </p><p> </p><p>"Thanks again, Mr. Hillard," Kara repeated.</p><p> </p><p>"Don't mention it, kid."</p><p> </p><p>Kara shut the car door and straightened out the wrinkles in her shirt. Clyde Hillard was a driver for Uber, and Kara had gotten to know him pretty well during their numerous rides together. Mr. Hillard was a retired M1 armor crewman for the Army. His job was to drive and operate tanks in the military. He'd been married to his wife Cynthia for over thirty years, and together, they had three fur babies. </p><p> </p><p>Alex thought it was a waste of money for Kara to Uber everywhere when she had a perfectly good driver's license, but Kara saw it as a sacrifice in the name of public safety. Kara would gladly put a little extra money into Ubers, while simultaneously helping out her favorite driver, if it meant she didn't have to drive anywhere. </p><p> </p><p>"Took you long enough. I though I was gonna have to drag you away from that guy's car," Alex huffed when Kara was close enough to her. </p><p> </p><p>"Mr. Hillard is cool. I ride with him all the time," Kara said. She turned her head, looking over her shoulder to see if he had pulled away yet. "He has fruit snacks in his-"</p><p> </p><p>"Holy shit," Alex cut her off, earning a grumble from Kelly for cursing in front of Jay.</p><p> </p><p>Kara returned her gaze to her sister. "What?"</p><p> </p><p>"Your neck," Alex gawked. "You look like you've been mauled by a bear."</p><p> </p><p>Kara's hand flew to the side of her neck. "Crap, my concealer must've rubbed off on my collar."</p><p> </p><p>"You have fun last night?" Kelly laughed after she caught a look. </p><p> </p><p>"I will admit that I did have some fun last night," Kara winked as she slid onto the bench across from Kelly, ignoring Alex's groans of displeasure. "But not in the way you're thinking."</p><p> </p><p>"I want to ask you to be less vague, but I really would rather not hear intimate details about my little sister's sex life," Alex muttered.</p><p> </p><p>"Well, you're in luck because Lena and I did not have sex," Kara announced. "We just..."</p><p> </p><p>"Kissed passionately?" Kelly supplied, not at all uncomfortable with the topic of the conversation. She was a psychologist, she's heard wilder things.</p><p> </p><p>Kara bobbled her head, "I was gonna say made out, but that works, too." </p><p> </p><p>Jay looked up from his hammer, noticing Kara's presence. He smiled his toothless smile and made grabby hands for Kara. Kelly lifted him up and over the table for Kara to grab him.</p><p> </p><p>"Hi, baby," Kara gleefully greeted in her baby voice reserved only for him and small animals. "But yeah, that was all Lena and I did last night," she continued.</p><p> </p><p>"Not in the mood?" Kelly guessed.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, <em>totally </em>in the mood. Just not sober."</p><p> </p><p>Alex rolled her eyes, "Let me guess, you rambled something along the lines of <em>wanting to remember it in the morning</em>?"</p><p> </p><p>"You know me so well," Kara avowed smugly, then she perked up when she remembered something. "Oh, but the highlight of the night was that Lena <em>claimed </em>me in front of all of her actor friends."</p><p> </p><p>"Claimed you?" Kelly questioned. "What do you mean?"</p><p> </p><p>"I don't even wanna know," Alex sighed, putting her head in her hands.</p><p> </p><p>"This actor dude, Oliver Queen, he came up to me while I was standing at the bar and started flirting with me, right? In the moment, I just thought he was being friendly, but in retrospect, Lena's reaction made me realize what he was doing."</p><p> </p><p>"What did Lena do?"</p><p> </p><p>"Hold on, forget what Lena did," Alex cut in. "You're telling me Oliver Queen flirted with you?"</p><p> </p><p>Kara nodded her head slowly, unsure what Alex was getting at. "Yeah."</p><p> </p><p>"He was in that new Terminator movie!" Alex exclaimed. "I can't believe Oliver Queen could've been my brother-in-law."</p><p> </p><p>"<em>Okay</em>," Kara drew out the syllables, "You are moving way too fast. And besides, he turned out to be kind of a butt when Lena came around, anyway, so not a good person to bring into the family."</p><p> </p><p>Alex made a <em>hmph </em>sound and crossed her arms over her chest, clearly disappointed that she wouldn't get the chance to meet Oliver Queen. </p><p> </p><p>"Keep going, Kara," Kelly urged. "What did she do?"</p><p> </p><p>Kara's eye lit up, "Right, so she came over all suave and such and asked me to come back to our table. She had seen Oliver flirting from across the room and did not like that at all. When Oliver tried to make it seem like she was being controlling, she practically begged me to sit down. She even kissed my neck right in front of him. It was so hot."</p><p> </p><p>Alex plugged her ears and shook her head, "La, la, la! I'm not hearing this!"</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, would you stop," Kelly chastised her, slapping her wife's hands away from her ears. "It's not even that explicit."</p><p> </p><p>"You'd be acting the same way if you had known her since she was thirteen like me," Alex argued. "I had to teach this kid how to get from her homeroom to her first period when she first moved to Midvale, and now she's talking about how her girlfriend was feeling her up? It makes me feel old.. and icky."</p><p> </p><p>"You're being overdramatic."</p><p> </p><p>Kara let out an amused giggle at her sister and her sister-in-law bantering. In the heat of everything, and with Jay squirming around in her arms, Kara couldn't help but to picture her and Lena in a scenario similar to this one. Arguing over some sort of petty problem, trying to keep their voices low because of the baby napping in the next room over. One of the cracking eventually, diving into a fit of laughter, the other following suit. </p><p> </p><p>She knew she shouldn't be thinking that far ahead. They were still in the honeymoon phase. Everyday felt like the best day and they continued to learn more and more about each other as they talked. For each minute she spent with Lena that would tick by, Kara became more enamored with her.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>"You get railed last night?"</p><p> </p><p>"Must you be so blunt?" Lena reprimanded. She was over by her liquor bar, topping off her martini with an olive garnish. After not being able to get hers the night before because of reasons <strike>in</strike>directly caused by Oliver Queen, Lena felt she deserved to make her own.</p><p> </p><p>"Come on," Sam whined. "I've been dying to know since you texted me about her abs last night and told me come over for cocktail hour at two in the afternoon."</p><p> </p><p>Lena sighed. That was fair. </p><p> </p><p>"Okay, okay, but you're going to be extremely disappointed with the answer."</p><p> </p><p>Sam slammed the microwave door shut, starting up a packet of popcorn she had found in Lena's pantry. "You guys didn't do anything?"</p><p> </p><p>"Nothing besides kiss," Lena nodded before she took a sip of her martini.</p><p> </p><p>"Well, that's a bummer. I have a suspicion that behind those glasses and the button-ups, Kara is a freak in the sheets."</p><p> </p><p>"I'd appreciate it if you'd stop talking about my girlfriend in sexual manners, thanks," Lena said, but there was no bite behind her words. She knew everything Sam said was all in good fun. "And it isn't a bummer. Kara didn't want to do anything yet because she was drunk."</p><p> </p><p>Sam leant down over Lena's kitchen island. She rested her chin in her palms. "That's respectable."</p><p> </p><p>"Yep..." Lena trailed off. Bringing up Kara reminded her of what Kara had said the night before.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Love you."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The gravity of those words made Lena's heart sink to her stomach.</p><p> </p><p>"Hey," Sam called, noticing Lena's faraway look. "You okay?"</p><p> </p><p>Lena considered not saying anything, but quickly decided against that. This was Sam. She could trust her.</p><p> </p><p>"Kara told me she loves me."</p><p> </p><p>Sam's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, wow. That's a lot."</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah," Lena breathed out.  </p><p> </p><p>"Do you, um... do you love her?"</p><p> </p><p>"Yes," Lena replied with no hesitation. </p><p> </p><p>The affirmation slipped out of her mouth before she could even realize she said it. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach just thinking of the implication of those simple three words. They carried so much weight, yet none at all. They <em>were </em>just words. Not when it came to Kara, however. If you asked her to explain how she let herself say something so rash, Lena wouldn't be able to tell you. There was just that <em>something</em> about Kara that made all of Lena's walls crumble to the ground. It scared her, but it also fueled her desire more.</p><p> </p><p>"I don't see what the issue is?"</p><p> </p><p>"The problem is she was either only half awake or still very drunk when she told me," Lena explained. "I don't know if she even realized what she said. When I looked over at her after she said it, she was already asleep."</p><p> </p><p>"She meant it, if that's what you're getting at, Lena." Sam told her. "I know she did."</p><p> </p><p>Lena looked over at her, an almost pained expression on her face. Sam knew her too well. "You can't possibly be sure of that."<br/><br/></p><p> </p><p>"Lena, you don't just say random things in a state like the one you described. She had to have been thinking about it a lot while sober to say it. The liquor and the drowsiness just reduced her filter."</p><p> </p><p>Lena thought it over. What Sam was saying did make sense. Things most drunk people say are almost always premeditated thoughts. Lena would never know unless she got confirmation from Kara, though, and the thought of asking Kara if she told her she loved her scared her more than the fact that she was even in a relationship where to prospect of love was a possibility.</p><p> </p><p>She decided to let it go for now. She invited Sam over for girl time, and she did not have to bring her relationship into everything. Lena would hate to be that person. Settling on knowing that she did have love for Kara and that Kara could quite possibly be reciprocating those feelings was enough for her.</p><p> </p><p>"Thank you," Lena smiled gratefully. "You always know exactly what I need to hear."</p><p> </p><p>Sam waved her off, happy that she was able to help. "I don't know if I've told you yet, but I'm happy for you. Kara's a good person. You deserve to be loved by someone like her."</p><p> </p><p>"I am not wearing waterproof mascara."</p><p> </p><p>Sam laughed softly, then went to get her popcorn out of the microwave when it stopped. Lena took another sip of her martini just as her phone rang. She moved from the liquor bar to her living room and looked at the caller ID.</p><p> </p><p><em><strong>Kara </strong></em>❤️ <em>is calling...</em></p><p> </p><p>"That's her now."</p><p> </p><p>"Ooh, put it on speaker."</p><p> </p><p>Lena rolled her eyes, but complied nonetheless. "Hi, darling." Lena placed her glass down on the coffee table, then sat down on the couch, folding her legs up beside her as well. </p><p> </p><p>"Hey!" Kara's bubbly voice sounded out through Lena's phone speaker, "Whatcha doing?"</p><p> </p><p>"Nothing much," Lena breathed out, a content smile on her face. "I invited Sam over for a movie and some drinks."</p><p> </p><p>"'Sup, dork," Sam piped up, rounding the couch with a bowl of popcorn in her hands. She plopped down on the couch next to Lena, only for the latter to playfully shove her shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>"Hi, Sam," Kara chuckled. </p><p> </p><p>"How was lunch with everyone?" Lena asked.</p><p> </p><p>"It was nice. Alex and Kelly are great. They're super fun to be around when they aren't sucking each other's faces off," Kara joked. "I pretty much held Jay the whole time, but neither of us cared all too much. He likes it when I hold him."</p><p> </p><p>Lena smiled at the mental image of Kara with a baby. She imagined Kara would be soft and gentle, but also one who wasn't afraid to get a little dirty and take the kid on fun adventures. </p><p> </p><p>"That's sweet," Lena responded.</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah." Lena could practically hear her grin in her voice. "I can't wait for you to meet them. They'd love you."</p><p> </p><p>Lena swore her heart stopped beating for a second. Meeting Kara's family? That was a lot. Sure, Lena had already met Alex Danvers and that went smoothly enough. The most nerve-wracking person to meet when being introduced to a partner's family, besides their mother, was their sibling, especially if their sibling was older. Alex was a mess when Lena met her, and now that she was positive her son was going to be alright, Alex was back to being the intimidating big sister, Lena was sure of it. </p><p> </p><p>If shovel talks could actually bury people, Lena knew she would be six feet under if she got reintroduced to Alex.</p><p> </p><p>"Meet th-them?" Lena stammered. "You want me to meet your family?"</p><p> </p><p>"Well, I mean, yeah. You are my girlfriend. You're gonna have to meet them eventually. Better sooner than later, right?"</p><p> </p><p>No! Never sooner than later. Later was always better when it came to meeting the family. That gave Lena time to practice her speech about how she promised to never hurt their sister, or daughter, or whatever the relation was. </p><p> </p><p>Lena took a deep breath, gathering her composure. "Right," she agreed, the steadiness in her voice, a sharp contrast to the rapid pounding of her heart. </p><p> </p><p>At least that was beating again.</p><p> </p><p>"You don't sound so sure," Kara said. "You don't have to meet them now, Lena. It was just a suggestion. Remember what you said about communication? I want you to be comfortable."</p><p> </p><p>Lena sighed, letting her head drop forward. "Yeah, you're right," she admitted, but she couldn't ignore the fact that she was relieved. "I know I've already met Alex briefly, but can we wait a little while longer for us to meet properly?"</p><p> </p><p>"Of course," Kara assured her. "Let me know when you think you'll be up for it, and I'll make it happen. Until then, we can keep things how they are."</p><p> </p><p>"Thank you for understanding."</p><p> </p><p>"Always."</p><p> </p><p>Feeling uncomfortable to have been a witness to an intimate conversation, Sam cleared her throat. "So, how about last night? You two kids have fun?"</p><p> </p><p>Lena groaned while Kara simply laughed. "I'm gonna be honest and say that I'm sort of missing some memories."</p><p> </p><p>Lena immediately turned to Sam who was already looking at her. Sam's eyes held the same uncertainty Lena felt coursing through her. Kara didn't remember what happened last night? That meant...</p><p> </p><p>Before she could get ahead of herself, Sam swooped in and tried to piece things together. "What do you mean?"</p><p> </p><p>"Well I remember the party, obviously. The food, the speeches, the dessert. Things get sort of fuzzy when it comes to the ride home, but I know what Lena and I did once we got to her penthouse," Kara explained, purposefully leaving out their discussion on their first time. "I know I took a shower, but that's all I can recall. My mind literally goes from marveling at how fancy Lena's shower head was, to waking up the next morning feeling like a jackhammer was pounding against my scull."</p><p> </p><p>Sam looked at Lena somberly, sympathy dancing around her features.</p><p> </p><p>"I hope I didn't say anything dumb while I was drunk," Kara laughed, clearly having know idea of the weight her words carried. "I always say things I don't really mean when I've had one too many. If I said anything stupid, I'm sorry. Don't take it to heart."</p><p> </p><p>Upon hearing nothing but heavy breaths in return, Kara grew concerned. "I didn't say anything inappropriate, did I?"</p><p> </p><p>"No," Lena squeaked out the short, monosyllabic word, too afraid to say a phrase any longer than necessary; afraid that her voice may betray her.</p><p> </p><p>Sensing that Lena would not be able to carry on with the conversation, Sam cut in. "Hey, listen, Kara, we're gonna go. Lena will talk to you sometime later, alright?"</p><p> </p><p>"Sam is everything okay? Did I do something wrong?" </p><p> </p><p>"No, she just-" Sam saw the tears gathering in Lena's eyes, threatening to spill over. "Bye, Kara."</p><p> </p><p>The moment Sam hung up the phone, the dam broke. A choked sob escaped Lena's throat as Sam wrapped her arms around her. Sam held her close, whispering softly into her hair.</p><p> </p><p>"It's okay, honey. It's okay. Just let it out."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>so yeah, here's some angst, sorry :)</p><p>in my defense, this was not how i planned on this chapter going, it just sort of happened lol</p><p>yell at me in the comments if you wish to do so</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>reflections and resolutions</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>sorry for the wait, i hit roadblock after roadblock while writing this. anyway, i hope it does everything justice :)</p><p>also i don't know anything about guitars or drums, so if you do, i'm sorry in advance if anything sounds dumb. i tried my best with the research lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kara stared blankly at the wall in front of her. Her phone was held loosely in her hand, dangerously close to slipping from her fingers and onto the hardwood of her apartment floor. Mouth hanging agape, her brain tried to process <em>what the hell had gone wrong</em>?</p><p> </p><p>They were fine. She and Lena were <em>fine</em>. How had it gone all wrong so fast?</p><p> </p><p>Their phone conversation replayed in her head again and again, but nothing stood out to her. They were fine.</p><p> </p><p>Weren't they?</p><p> </p><p>It was painfully obvious that Lena was upset when Sam ended the phone call. Sam's rushed goodbye came nowhere near the sign-offs Lena would usually say to her. <em>Talk to you later, darling </em>or <em>goodnight, love. </em>The terms of endearment took Kara's breath away every time she heard them.  </p><p> </p><p>How had she screwed everything all up?</p><p> </p><p>The dense thunk her phone made against the floor when it finally escaped her weak grip snapped Kara out of her trance. She looked down at the offending item, but couldn't bring herself to pick it up. What was the point? There wasn't going to be a message from Lena waiting for her on the other side. </p><p> </p><p>Her mental debate on whether or not to pick up her phone came to a conclusion when it began to buzz. It was the sound Kara set for her livestream alarms only. Kara had set it back few hours this Sunday because of her lunch with Alex and Kelly, but with her mind in shambles about what she had done to make Lena upset with her, she had lost track of time.</p><p> </p><p>Kara sighed and reached down to pick up the device. The thought of just canceling the stream altogether crossed her mind. She could've easily tweeted out that she wasn't feeling well or that something came up so she wouldn't have to broadcast herself in front of thousands of detectives, essentially. Kara's fans could read her like a book, so they would be able to tell something was up with her. And because she was now associated with Lena, <em>her </em>fans had begun to follow and inspect Kara as well. </p><p> </p><p>Then she remembered why she did what she did in the first place, and that was to make people smile. Kara always thought that if she could make at least one person smile or laugh, she was doing her job right. The livestreams she did gave herself and a lot of her fans a much needed break from reality. Just a half hour where nothing else existed except for them and Kara. </p><p> </p><p>So while the thought of canceling the stream did cross her mind, she couldn't bring herself to do it. </p><p> </p><p>Kara shut off the alarm and pushed herself off of the couch. She went into her room, grabbed her tripod, and set it up at the foot of her bed. Her favorite guitar hung on a wall mount above her bed (hanging things above a bed was dangerous, especially in California where an earthquake could happen at any given moment, Kara knew that, but having the guitar up there oddly made her feel safe, so she said to hell with safety hazards).</p><p> </p><p>It was a vintage Ibanez acoustic guitar from the eighties. It used to be Jeremiah's, but he had passed it on to Kara after he taught her how to play when she was fifteen. He had taught Alex how to play as well, but he ended up giving his guitar to Kara because Alex proved to be more interested in trying for early college acceptances than music.</p><p> </p><p>Kara carefully took the guitar down from the mount. Though it still worked properly, it was thirty-something years old and Kara had no desire to accidentally break the thing any time soon. She clipped on a tuner and plucked each string. Once she had it tuned, she sat down on the edge of her bed. Kara smiled as she started up the live.</p><p> </p><p>"Hey, guys! Let's play some music."</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The rest of Sunday came and went and Kara still hadn't heard from Lena. She had tried to reach out a little while after she stopped streaming, but the call went to voicemail. She let Lena have her space after that, then called again while she was getting ready for bed, only to have the same fate. Kara let out an exhausted sigh. She didn't want to bug Lena anymore than she already had, but before she turned off her phone for the night, she left her a couple text messages.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>To Lena</strong>: <em>Hey. I've obviously made you upset, so I'm not gonna call and annoy you anymore. I just want to say I'm sorry for whatever it is that I did. </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I also wanted to say goodnight. I hope you sleep well. ❤️</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>When Monday morning rolled around, as Kara was brewing a pot of coffee, her phone vibrated on the counter next to her. Kara's face immediately split into a grin. A jolt of hope spiked through her, her heart beating a mile a minute at the idea that Lena might've responded. Kara turned away from her coffee maker and picked up her phone. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Winn</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>Can you go into the studio and re-record a drumming clip? The audio I have is a little fuzzy. </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Her smile faded into a weak grimace. At least she had something to keep her mind off of things.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>When Kara, Winn, and James went to Lucy with the idea of putting a recording studio in her and James' new house, she was understandably not on board at first. She was a new homeowner and renovating one of their two guest bedrooms didn't exactly appeal to her. It took a few weeks of nagging on Winn's end, a crisp one hundred dollar bill from Kara, and a promise from James that they would make the room a thousand percent soundproof for Lucy to finally give in.</p><p> </p><p>After Kara and James got the room built and Winn brought in all of his sound equipment, Lucy presented them with a list of conditions that would have to be met in order for the studio to stay up and running. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>1. All musical instruments and recording equipment stay inside of the studio</em>
</p><p>
  <em>2. Under no instance may you use my bathroom upstairs</em>
</p><p>
  <em>3. Don't even step foot in my kitchen </em>
</p><p>
  <em>4. If I hear your music outside of the studio, so help me God</em>
</p><p>
  <em>5. Don't break any of my rules</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Kara was currently breaking rules four and five. In her defense, she wasn't exactly aware of the fact because of the bulky over-ear headphones she was wearing.</p><p> </p><p>The drums were one of Kara's favorite instruments because of how much they brought to a song. Have a lackluster track? Add some snare or a bass rhythm, and it automatically has more life.</p><p> </p><p>In Kara's opinion, the drums were the backbone of a band. They set the timing, provide pulsing beats, and were one of, if not the most noticeable aspect of a song. If you have a crappy drummer, you're going to have a crappy band as well. </p><p> </p><p>Considering how much Kara loved the drums and the role they play in a song, it's not surprising that whenever she got the chance to play them, she lost herself within the music. Like now,<em> Kara was currently breaking rules four and five</em>. </p><p> </p><p>There were a lot of factors that resulted in Lucy angrily storming into the studio because of the noise. The first was that drumming worked up a sweat. One couldn't just half-ass drumming, you have to go all in. At first, Kara just took off her sweatshirt. When that didn't stop the sweat from forming at the edge of her hairline, Kara slipped off her t-shirt. She was alone, anyway, so there was no problem in stripping down a bit. Kara was only two minutes back into trying to record the part that Winn needed when she had to stop and open the door shutting off the studio from the rest of the downstairs floor to let some cool air in. </p><p> </p><p>The second factor was the lingering sadness that made Kara's chest constrict every time her mind wandered to Lena. Her stomach twisted into knots when she thought about what this could mean for them. Kara didn't even know what "this" was, but if it had the potential to break her and Lena up, she would fight tooth and nail to fix it. </p><p> </p><p>That's what turned her sadness into anger. Unanswered questions, frustration at herself for messing things up, a dwindling patience for Lena's unresponsiveness; it all fueled the fire. It didn't help that <em>Rolling in the Deep</em> was a particularly drum heavy song, and banging on the plastic of her electronic drum set did help take the edge off. </p><p> </p><p>Kara hadn't even noticed Lucy's arrival until her headphones were roughly yanked off of her head. She turned towards the doorway at the abrupt action. Lucy was standing in front of the door, headphones in hand, in her robe and slippers. The scowl on her face made Kara's shoulder sink inwards as she tried to seem small.</p><p> </p><p>"What the actual fuck, Kara! What the fuck!" Lucy exclaimed. "Why can I hear you banging on your drums all the way in the fucking living room?"</p><p> </p><p>Kara stared in bewilderment. She hadn't thought anyone was home. It was ten in the morning on a Monday. Lucy was a dance instructor so she was always out the door by eight, and Kara had called ahead and asked James if he was at home today or out on a shoot. He said something about having a busy day with a maternity shoot, and then a couple with engagement announcement photos afterwards. Kara assumed that Lucy would be at work like usual, so she would have the house to herself. She even used her spare key that they had given her to get into the house.</p><p> </p><p>"Wha-what are you doing here?" She sputtered, shocked at Lucy's sudden presence. "I thought you were at work!"</p><p> </p><p>Lucy crossed her arms over her chest. "I was upstairs in bed up until about twenty minutes ago. I didn't go into work today because I have a <em>migraine</em>, and you smashing your fucking drums in is not helping."</p><p> </p><p>"I'm sorry," Kara apologized sheepishly. Her face burned with embarrassment. She was certain her face was the same shade as a tomato.</p><p> </p><p>Sighing, Lucy handed Kara her headphones back. "Don't be. It's alright. Just try and keep it down, alright?" Kara nodded quickly. "And put on a shirt, will ya? Can't have you and your abs showing me up in my own house."</p><p> </p><p>Kara let out a relived laugh. "You got it, Lane."</p><p> </p><p>”Soon to be Lane-Olsen.”</p><p> </p><p>Kara’s eyes widened in surprise at her friend’s comment. Her face lit up. “James proposed!”</p><p> </p><p>“Not yet, but... soon,” Lucy replied wistfully.</p><p> </p><p>”How do you know he’s gonna propose?”</p><p> </p><p>”Kara, I’ve known Jimmy for eight years. We’ve been dating for six. There’s no rhyme or reason to it, I just know.” Lucy, never one to be openly vulnerable with her emotions, couldn’t wipe the cheshire cat smile off of her face.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>"I can't believe you are getting married."</p><p> </p><p>"Ah, it's not confirmed, Danvers. Jimmy hasn't proposed."</p><p> </p><p>"<em>Yet</em>."</p><p> </p><p>Lucy broke into a grin from behind the rim of her glass of water. She took a swig, then went back to picking through her salad, moving all the tomatoes off to the side. "I'm honestly surprised Jimmy and I have lasted this long. I never pictured myself to be the "settling down" type."</p><p> </p><p>Kara's brows furrowed, crinkle out and proud. "Really? I always thought you guys would be forever."</p><p> </p><p>"Coming from the girl who stole him from me," Lucy retorted, a playful look in her eye.</p><p> </p><p>"Ok, in my defense-"</p><p> </p><p>"You don't get a defense."</p><p> </p><p>"—In <em>my </em>defense," Kara punctuated, "I didn't know you two used to date. When Winn and I met you and and James at that football game in college, you introduced yourselves as friends. Why would I have suspected any different?"</p><p> </p><p>"What was I supposed to say? <em>Hi, I'm Lucy and this is my ex-boyfriend James</em>?" Lucy jabbed her fork down into her salad, roughly picking out another tomato.</p><p> </p><p>"It would've helped, yeah," Kara agreed with a nod. "It would've explained why you got so jealous after you saw James and me out eating dinner together."</p><p> </p><p>Lucy scoffed in offense. "I was not jealous."</p><p> </p><p>"You were <em>so </em>jealous."</p><p> </p><p>"Can it, Danvers," Lucy told her. She knew when to pick and choose her battles, and that was one she wasn't going to be able to win.</p><p> </p><p>Kara just laughed and popped another grape into her mouth. After she finished up with her recording and sent the file to Winn, Lucy suggested that she stay over for lunch. Kara delightfully accepted the invitation, never turning down a chance at food. </p><p> </p><p>"So," Lucy spoke up after they ate in silence for a few minutes, "Why were you going all Hulk smash on your drums earlier? You're not usually that aggressive when you play."</p><p> </p><p>Kara ducked her head, exhaling heavily through her nose. With her elbow propped up on the kitchen island, her forehead rested in the palm of her hand. "I said something kind of dumb to Lena when I was drunk the other night. Now she's gone completely MIA. Won't answer my calls or respond to my texts. She hasn't even been active on Twitter or anything. I checked her likes. Nothing new in the past two days."</p><p> </p><p>"Way to be a stalker," Lucy jokingly muttered. Kara looked up at her with an exasperated expression and then Lucy knew it was serious. "Damn, sorry. Um... what did you say?"</p><p> </p><p>Kara swallowed hard. "I genuinely don't remember some things that happened that night, but if she's upset over what I think she's upset about, then I'm screwed."</p><p> </p><p>"Why do you think she's upset?"</p><p> </p><p>Worrying her bottom lip, Kara finally let her eyes meet Lucy's. "I told her I loved her." </p><p> </p><p>Lucy didn’t say a word.</p><p> </p><p>Kara felt increasingly more uncomfortable under Lucy's unmoving gaze the longer her friend stayed silent. The heat was back from before, except it wasn't from exertion. It was from fear. The fear of being judged by her best friend. The fear that Lucy, too, would think she was an idiot for acting so impetuously.</p><p> </p><p>"I know it was stupid. It was so stupid. But I meant it, Lucy. I love Lena, I really do. I just don't want her to think that I'm saying that for all the wrong reasons. I'm not a gold digger or with her for the fame, or clout, or whatever. But I think she thinks that, maybe? I don't know? Lena's told me before that she trusts me and she knows I'm dating her because I care for her. I just, I don't know. She's not answering my calls and-"</p><p> </p><p>"Kara."</p><p> </p><p>"—I think she may hate me, and-"</p><p> </p><p>"Kara, calm down."</p><p> </p><p>"—I screwed up, Lucy. Like really screwed- no fucked! I fucked up. I-"</p><p> </p><p>Lucy shot out of her chair, slamming her open hand down on the granite. "Shut up!"</p><p> </p><p>Kara's mouth instantly snapped shut. She couldn't breathe, couldn't take in any air. Her heart refused to pump. Everything was at a standstill. Too focused on Lucy's wide eyes and parted lips, Kara didn't even notice the tears running down her own cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>That's how they both stayed for a moment. Looking at each other. Frozen in a deer-in-headlights way. It wasn't until Lucy moved to sit back down that Kara's lungs kicked in again. They inflated and deflated at a rapid pace as they worked overtime to bring in more air. </p><p> </p><p>Lucy's mouth opened and closed a couple times. She needed to chose her words carefully; tread lightly. "Calm down. Everything's going to be alright," is what she settled on. "Just chill, Kara. You're going to have a fucking aneurysm or something."</p><p> </p><p>Kara's heaving breaths slowly faded into gentle inhalations. "Ok," she huffed out. "Ok."</p><p> </p><p>"Now, explain everything to me," Lucy told her softly. "Nice and slow. Just explain."</p><p> </p><p>Kara took a deep breath, as deep as her still-recovering lungs allowed. "I didn't even think of the possibility until a few minutes ago, but I think Lena heard me when I told her I loved her."</p><p> </p><p>"What do you mean you think she heard you? You guys weren't just talking?"</p><p> </p><p>"No," Kara shook her head, "We were in bed. She told me goodnight. I went to say goodnight as well, and it just slipped out. She didn't say anything, so I thought maybe she didn't hear what I said. I just closed my eyes and tried to go to sleep."</p><p> </p><p>Lucy nodded along as a way of silently telling her to continue.</p><p> </p><p>"The next morning, I thought everything was fine. I went to lunch with Alex and Kelly, then I went home and called Lena. The night before got brought up and I talked about how some of my memories were fuzzy. That's when Lena started getting upset, I think. At first, I was worried that I had said something dumb or offensive while I was drunk that I didn't remember..."</p><p> </p><p>"...But now you think it's about you telling her you love her," Lucy filled in.</p><p> </p><p>"Yes," Kara said, "Exactly."</p><p> </p><p>Lucy gave Kara a solemn look. "I don't know what to tell you, Kara. The only thing I can think of to do—the only thing you can do—is talk to Lena. Go to her. Explain everything the way you did to me just now."</p><p> </p><p>Kara wrung her fingers together. Lucy was right. The only thing she could do was talk to Lena. In person, not through a screen.</p><p> </p><p>Giving her a genuine smile, albeit a bit forced, she said, "Thank you, Lucy. Truly."</p><p> </p><p>Lucy returned the gesture. "It'll all work out in the end, Kara. I know it."</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Lena knew what she was doing was wrong. Completely shutting down and putting up all of her guards was her (not so healthy) coping mechanism for unwanted and unforeseen emotional situations. Her therapist made this known to her. So, yes, she was aware that ignoring Kara's calls and not even bothering to look at her text messages was not ok, but she couldn't help it. </p><p> </p><p>When she heard Kara tell her she loved her, her mind immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario of "she didn't mean it." Then, Sam swooped in and reassured her that she did mean it, and that Kara would be an idiot if she didn't. And <em>then</em>, Lena was happy for all of five seconds before Kara admitted that she did, in fact, not mean it.</p><p> </p><p>After the call with Kara on Sunday and Sam's attempted consolation, Lena had sent her friend home. She was no longer in the mood for popcorn and a movie, and while Sam offered to stay so they could just talk, Lena turned her down, claiming that she wanted to be alone. Sam knew what that meant. That meant shutting all the drapes, turning off the lights, and pulling out a bottle of scotch.</p><p> </p><p>She had enough willpower to cut herself off after the third glass. It didn't matter, though. The damage had been done. Love didn't come easy for Lena, no matter if she was loving someone, or if someone was loving her. Lena couldn't remember the last time someone had told her they loved her besides Sam. The Luthors were never the type to announce their love. Words Lex once said to her still echoed in her head to this day.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Love is valueless. I respect you."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>That was the motto for all the Luthors, and they didn't flat out say that either. They showed their respect in subtle head nods and small gifts of sports cars or prepaid trips to Saint Tropez. And that was great. That was all Lena needed, until she met Andrea and she realized what loving someone could truly mean. But that was besides the point. She finally accepted the fact that she loved Kara, and Kara did not have the same feelings.</p><p> </p><p>Lena had dealt with unrequited love before. She had ways to handle it. </p><p> </p><p>Sam, being the amazing friend she was, knew of Lena's unhealthy coping habits, so she sent her a text before going to bed Sunday night.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Sam</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>Lena I know you're upset right now, and you have every right to be, but since you're not answering my calls, I need you to hear me out here. This is new for you. All the years I've known you, you have never fallen for someone as fast as you have with Kara. You love her and that's not easy for you to admit. I'm proud of you for that. But you have to understand that even if what Kara said did just slip out with no meaning, that doesn't mean what you two having going on won't build her feelings.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>This relationship is fresh. Give her some time to get to know you. If you do that, I have no doubt that she'll come to love you as well. Give it time. Don't freak out. And if you don't listen to anything I just told you, listen to this: PLEASE STOP DRINKING! I KNOW YOU ARE, SO STOP!!</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Lena sighed and poured the alcohol she had just put in a flask to sit next to her bed back to its original bottle. Her read receipts were turned off, so she sent Sam a quick response to let her know that she'd take what she said into consideration.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><em>I'n too drunk to fully </em> <em>comprehend this rifht now so I'll reread this tomoow and get back to yoou then.</em></p><p>
  <em>But thank you</em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Lena was brewing a pot of tea when her doorbell rang at 2PM on Monday. She wasn't expecting anyone, nor did Tony buzz her to let her know she had a guest, so Lena was surprised at the sudden sound. She turned off the stove and placed her pot of boiling water on a cool eye. Lena walked over to her front door. Grabbing the handle, she went to fling it open.</p><p> </p><p>"Sam, I woke up literally twenty minutes ago. I didn't reread your-"</p><p> </p><p>The words died on her tongue as she realized the person standing on the other side of the door was not Sam.</p><p> </p><p>"Kara."</p><p> </p><p>Dressed in a solid black sweatshirt and a pair of jeans, Kara stood on the other side of the door with her hands in her front pockets. The Vans on her feet were scuffed and the ponytail she had thrown her hair into was messy, loose hairs flying every which way. Her face was puffy and there was a redness to her eyes that Lena chalked up to be from crying.</p><p> </p><p>Lena searched for words she could say, but Kara beat her to the punch.</p><p> </p><p>"Can I," she cleared her throat when her voice sounded scratchy, "Um, can I come in?"</p><p> </p><p>It took Lena a moment to process the request. She was still shocked to see Kara standing in front of her, but she nodded her head and moved to the side. Kara walked in slowly, like she was physically walking on egg shells. Lena hated it. Whenever Kara stopped by her trailer or she showed up at Kara's apartment, Kara would always greet her with a kiss. Short and sweet, nothing more than a peck, but it conveyed everything that she wanted to say. <em>I love getting to see you; I missed you; how are you?</em></p><p> </p><p>Kara kept her hands in her pockets and stood next to the kitchen island, and Lena stayed by the door. There were a good amount of feet between them. The distance made Lena want to grab that flask again.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm sorry-"</p><p> </p><p>"—I'm sorry-"</p><p> </p><p>Lena couldn't help but to duck her head at them saying the same thing at the same thing.</p><p> </p><p>"Jinx," Kara said quietly, a small smile on her face.</p><p> </p><p>"Let me go first," Lena spoke, "I really need to apologize."</p><p> </p><p>"Lena, no, it's ok," Kara waved her off.</p><p> </p><p>"No, it's not, Kara. I shouldn't have ignored you like that. It was immature and you didn't deserve that."</p><p> </p><p>"But-"</p><p> </p><p>"<em>Please</em>, just let me explain."</p><p> </p><p>Kara shoved her hands further into her pants pockets, if that was even possible. Not meeting Lena's gaze, she nodded, "Ok, go ahead."</p><p> </p><p>Lena pulled on her sweater sleeves so they covered most of her hands. "I'm not good at accepting praise. I was never verbally praised as a child, and when I was, the person doing it always had ulterior motives. <em>I say something nice to you, so now you owe me something</em>, that sort of thing."</p><p> </p><p>"Because of this, I never really accepted compliments from people. I didn't think any of them were genuine. As I got older, this spread into my love life. I've dated a few people. They've told me they loved me, but I never believed them. Growing up with the Luthors—that toxic environment—I didn't think I deserved to be loved. Before I realized that they showed their respect in material things, I just thought that I wasn't capable of being loved."</p><p> </p><p>A pained expression was written on Kara's face as Lena continued to speak. How could someone not love Lena? That made zero sense to her.</p><p> </p><p>"An effect of this was not letting myself fall into love. I have been with women that I could actually picture a life with, but I never let myself fantasize about the future for too long. I didn't accept my own feelings, let alone believe the people who professed theirs to me. I made myself miserable."</p><p> </p><p>Lena took in a shuddering breath, "So, Kara, know what I'm about to say to you takes a lot. It's not easy for me, especially not after recent events, but I need to tell you. I'm not expecting anything from you after I say this, by any means."</p><p> </p><p>Kara finally looked Lena in the eye. Her eyes were brighter than they were when she walked in. The shade of blue that Lena had come to adore over the past few weeks. With blown pupils and her breath caught in her chest, Kara nodded her head. "Say it. Say it, Lena."</p><p> </p><p>She sounded so breathless and so full of... <em>hope </em>that Lena just blurted it out. "I love you."</p><p> </p><p>For a moment, everything was silent. Lena spoke her truth and Kara stood with her body anxiously closed in on itself. The room felt heavy like the air held weight. Thousands of pounds rested on Lena's shoulders and pushed in on her chest. Her stomach swirled in circles. All around her was white noise. </p><p> </p><p>For a moment, everything was silent...</p><p> </p><p>...then the next, Kara's hands were cradling her either side of her jaw, her lips pressed hard against her own. The suddenness shocked Lena at first, then she melted into it. Her hands fell to Kara's hips. Lena gripped the fabric of Kara's sweatshirt tightly, pulling her girlfriend closer. A muffled moan escaped from Lena as Kara slid her right hand to rest at the nape of Lena’s neck. The tips of her fingers tangled into Lena's hair.</p><p> </p><p>"I love you," Kara mumbled gruffly against her lips. "I love you. I love you."</p><p> </p><p>"Wait." Lena pushed Kara back lightly. "You love me?"</p><p> </p><p>Kara just laughed like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course I love you. How could I not?"</p><p> </p><p>Lena found herself laughing as well. She tugged on the collar of Kara's sweatshirt, pulling her down to reconnect their lips.</p><p> </p><p>Kara pulled back, much to Lena's dismay. "But you were upset yesterday. I thought you were mad at me for telling you I loved you or something."</p><p> </p><p>Lena's brow furrowed. "You remember that?"</p><p> </p><p>A red blush grew across Kara's cheeks. She chuckled nervously. "Yeah. I knew what I was saying. I was worried that you thought I was moving too fast when you didn't say anything. I pretended to go back to sleep so you wouldn't get upset. It was a cowardly move, I know. I just thought I made a mistake by telling you I loved you so soon. That's why when Sam asked how our night went, I said I didn't remember certain parts. I thought that if you <em>had</em> heard, it would cover me."</p><p> </p><p>Lena snaked her arms around Kara's waist. She leant forward and resting her head against Kara's chest. "I was convinced that you didn't love me; that you had said it by mistake because you were drunk and tired. That's why I ignored your messages."</p><p> </p><p>Kara soothingly ran her hand up and down the expanse of Lena's back. "I'm sorry I made you feel that way."</p><p> </p><p>"It's ok, darling," Lena told her. "You didn't mean to."</p><p> </p><p>"You gotta admit it's kinda funny, though."</p><p> </p><p>Lena lifted her head to look up at Kara. "What do you mean?"</p><p> </p><p>"The whole time we were preaching to each other about how important communication is in a relationship, then we had the biggest miscommunication in history."</p><p> </p><p>Lena let out a short laugh. "Yeah, well of course something like that would happen to us. Two people who think the universe is out to get them."</p><p> </p><p>Kara brought her hand up to cup Lena's face again. "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. At least we have each other."</p><p> </p><p>Lena leant up, gently pressing her lips to Kara's. She hummed her agreement as Kara's mouth slanted against hers. It started off soft and slow. Sensual and sweet. Then Lena's hand wandered from Kara's hip to the hem of her sweatshirt. She broke the kiss and looked up at Kara for permission. Kara's eyes glazed over as she looked down the location of Lena's hand. Bringing her eyes back to Lena's, she nodded.</p><p> </p><p>Their lips met again when Lena's hand slid underneath Kara's t-shirt. Lena's breath hitched as her hand roamed across tense muscle. </p><p> </p><p>"Lena," Kara panted against her lips. "Can I- can we...?"</p><p> </p><p>"Lead the way."</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>see? all better :))</p><p>life update: my birthday is today and i sort of dodged a bullet with all of the zoom birthday parties because the covid lockdowns didn’t really start until March. it’s gonna be interesting to see how a quarantine birthday goes lol</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>soft supercorp as we dive into kara's past and lena learns just how much her darling has been through</p>
<p>(featuring cat grant, because sadness deserves some comedic relief)</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i was not in the sc fandom during 2016 when lena first debuted, but i will forever be bitter that kara and lena's ship name could've been luvers. it was right there, and y'all chose supercorp. tsk tsk</p>
<p>and now back to our regularly scheduled programming...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kara absentmindedly carded her fingers through Lena's loose tresses of hair. Lena's head lay on her chest, one of her hands resting on the bare of Kara's abdomen. Her eyes were closed, but Kara knew she wasn't sleeping. She was still buzzing from their recent activities and she was sure Lena was as well. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You up for another round?" Kara whispered, earning a groan from Lena.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Kara Danvers, I am burnt out," she mumbled tiredly into the crook of Kara's neck. "But if you need another I can-"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara pushed down on Lena's shoulder, effectively keeping her from trying to move. "No, no, you just stay where you are. I'm perfectly fine with this."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena hummed contently, nuzzling back into Kara's embrace. She pressed a soft kiss to the underside of Kara's jaw. "I love you," she mused.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara's stomach tensed beneath her hand as a gentle laugh sounded out from her. "I love you, too."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They fell back into a comfortable silence. Kara continued her earlier ministrations with Lena's hair, while Lena drew random shapes onto Kara's shirtless form. Her eyes caught a flash of black just above the bed comforter covering Kara's bottom half. Her fingers drifted lower. She traced over small Roman numeral characters.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> <span class="roman">I</span> <span class="del">.</span> <span class="roman">I</span> <span class="del">.</span> <span class="roman">MCMLXXXVIII</span> </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">"Tell me about them," Lena said gingerly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">"Hm?"</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">"Your parents. What were they like?"</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">She felt Kara sigh heavily, so she quickly cut in. "You don't have to if you don't want to."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">Kara's hand that wasn't cupping the back of her head came to her cheek. Lena looked up at her. "It's ok, I want to."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">Breaking her eyes away from Lena's, Kara dropped her hand to rest it overtop of Lena's by the duvet. "January 1, 1988. That's the day my parents got married. New Year's Day," Kara began softly. "My mom's name was Alura, and my dad's was Zachary—Zack. He only ever let my mom call him by his full name." </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">Lena smiled at that. That was how Lex used to be when they were children. Lillian and Lionel would refer to him as Alexander when he got in trouble and he hated it. He never seemed to mind when Lena did it, though. It was hearing stories like that that made her miss the big brother she once had.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">"They met in tenth grade. They were high school sweethearts. My dad ended up proposing right after they graduated from college, and they got married seven months afterwards. Nearly four years later, I came along. This is actually where my middle name comes from. It was my last name before I got adopted. Zorel."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">"Why did you change it?" Lena questioned tentatively.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">"For the longest time I felt like an alien in the Danvers family. They were always nice and accepting of me. Eliza and Jeremiah, they treated me like I was a second daughter from the first day they met me," Kara explained. "When they came to me and told me they wanted to adopt me instead of continuing to just foster me, I said I wanted to change my name. It was never forced on me, I chose it. It was a big decision, but it was one I knew I had to do. It felt right, being a Danvers."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">Lena hummed at that. She found it interesting that Kara wanted to change her last name after something so tragic happened to her family, especially considering she was already a teenager when it happened. Had she had a choice, she would've kept her name Lena Kieran. She assumed that showed the difference between the Danverses and the Luthors. When you are taken in by family that actually cares for you, it makes all the difference.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">"My mom was a judge and my dad was an astrophysicist, so two very demanding jobs. They were busy people, but they always made time for each other, and they always made time for me. Family dinners were a staple when I was a kid. They would ask me how my day was at school, and they would tell me about their days at work in return."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">Kara interlaced their fingers together. Lena gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">"I grew up in place called Argo City," Kara continued. "It's in Northern California, near the Oregon border. Argo wasn't that large of a city, so the air pollution wasn't that bad. On particularly clear nights, my dad would drag me out to the backyard. We would lay in the grass and he would teach me about stars and the constellations. Sometimes my mom would join us, but most nights, it would be just us two."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">"There was this thing he and my mom used to tell me when they had to go on business trips or leave me with a babysitter late at night." Kara took a stuttering breath that made Lena's heart ache for her girlfriend. "They used to tell me that if I was scared, or lost, or if I missed them, I should look up at the night sky and find the brightest shining star. My dad said that he went up to the sky and put that star there just for me so I would always be able to see them, no matter where I was."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">Kara laughed wetly, and when Lena looked back up at her, there were fresh tears running down her cheeks. "They told me that when I was five or something, so I believed it then. It sounds silly now, but when I miss them, I still look for the brightest star."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">Lena reached up and used the pad of her thumb to wipe at Kara's tears. She cupped her face gently. "That's not silly, darling. That's- that's beautiful. I'm glad that you have a way to feel connected to them, even after all this time."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">Kara gave her a watery smile. "Thank you."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">Hearing about Kara's close relationship with her parents brought back the feeling of longing that used to be ever-present in Lena's mind when she was a teenager. Longing for parents that actually cared for her, about her. Not a "mother" or a "father," but a mom and a dad. She went on to accept the fact that she had been dealt a shitty hand once she graduated from Mount Helena. Kara's story made those thoughts resurface.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">"They died because of an electrical fire. Faulty wiring."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">"Kara, you don't have to-"</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">"I want you to know, Lena."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">Lena worried her bottom lip, but nodded her head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">"It was in the middle of the night, around three in the morning. Everyone was asleep. My memories from that night are fuzzy, but I remember my mom waking me up. She was scared, I could hear it in her voice. My dad said something about the front door being blocked and that we would have to escape through my bedroom window. My room was on the top floor. Below my window was just grass. We knew it would hurt if we jumped, but it was either some bruises or death, so you can guess what we chose."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena tightened her grip on Kara's hand. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"My dad, he offered to jump first to try and break our falls. That plan was scrapped when the flames bursted my room door open," Kara recounted. Her voice was gravelly and low. Lena could tell that it pained her to tell this story. "What happened next is a bit of a blur. I know my mom quickly threw open my window. My dad lifted me up onto to the sill and then wrapped me in the tightest hug I'd ever felt. My mom did the same. One moment, my mom is hugging me as tight as she can, and the next, I'm falling backwards out of my second-story window as flames overtake my bedroom."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Swallowing thickly, Lena could only snuggle in closer to Kara. She brought their clasped hands up to her lips, pressing a lingering kiss to Kara's knuckles.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I went in and out in the ambulance, but I regained total consciousnesses the next afternoon. Some cops came in and told me that my parents didn't make it. Somehow I ended up with only a fractured wrist and a minor concussion. It's how I got the scar on my forehead."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena loved that little scar. Why did it have to come from such a terrible thing?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"The doctors said it was a miracle. I had a differing opinion. My parents died and I ended up fine," Kara chuckled bitterly. "I'll never get over it."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Kara, I... I'm so sorry."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena could feel Kara's shoulder shrug. "It's alright. It's almost been fifteen years."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"That doesn't mean it gets any easier or less painful. It's ok to still be upset," Lena told her. "I still am."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena took in a breath, "My mother<span class="roman">—my biological mother—died when I was four. After she died, I was adopted by the Luthors. It's a long story and one for another day, but my point is, I still miss her. It's been over twenty years and I still find myself upset over her death. You went through a trauma, Kara. If you're sad, be sad. If you're angry, be angry. All emotions are valid."</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You always seem to know what to say."<br/><br/></p>
<p>"The words come easy with you," Lena replied honestly. "Why don't you hop in the shower? I can find you some more clothes, and then maybe I'll join you? How does that sound?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara looked down at her. She managed a small smile. "Sounds perfect."</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>

<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <strong>@lenapleasefme</strong>
  </p>
  <p><em>this is a luvers fan account now, don't come for me </em>🙄</p>
  <p>
    <em>@thelenaluthor @kdanvers y'all aint slick</em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p>
<p> </p>

<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <strong>@theonlyluthorwithrights</strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>LUVERS. THEY'RE SO LOUD I-</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>*lena_and_kara_staring_at_each_other.mov*</em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p>
<p> </p>

<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <strong>@daddydanvers</strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>wait you guys seriously didn't know kara had abs before that luvers livestream? have you seen her ig page??</em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p>
<p> </p>

<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <strong>@steponmelena</strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>no but like they're dating right? </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>the ship name is literally luvers they have to be dating</em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p>
<p> </p>

<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <strong>@dinokara</strong>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>not lena looking at kara like she's starving and kara's a three-course meal #luvers</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>*lesbian_activity_screenshot.jpeg*</em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena scrolled through the "luvers" mentions on Twitter, which was her and Kara's apparent ship name. Luthor and Danvers made Luvers. She couldn't deny the cleverness, and it <em>was</em> just an overall cute name. Sam had told her to search it up on Twitter after Lena sent her message to let her know that she and Kara had worked things out (and got a <em>workout</em> in and of itself).</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She was standing in the kitchen, wearing nothing but a pair of underwear and Kara's white t-shirt she had on when she first arrived at Lena's penthouse. It came down to her mid-thigh and it felt like she was constantly wrapped in one of Kara's signature bear hugs. She felt Kara's arms as they snaked around her waist from behind. The taller woman rested her chin on Lena's shoulder so she could see what was on Lena's phone. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I guess we weren't as subtle as we thought," Lena said lightheartedly. "There's thousands of tweets from people suspecting we are together."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara snorted, "Well, they're not wrong."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena shut off her phone, spinning around to face Kara. Kara had on Lena's fleece robe, a pair of Sam's sleep shorts and her own bra from earlier on underneath. Lena smiled at the sight. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You were supposed to find a shirt to wear, darling, not my robe."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"But it looked so fluffy!" Kara whined. "It's soft."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena clutched at the lapels of the robe and pulled Kara down toward her. "I know, love. That's why I bought it." She brought their lips together in a chaste kiss, but when she pulled away, Kara surged forward, capturing her lips again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I love you," Kara murmured, smiling into the kiss.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"And I hate you," Lena teased, earning herself a pout from Kara. Chuckling, she drew her girlfriend in for one last kiss. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lost in their own little world, the couple failed to hear the front door open and close, nor the extra presence in the room until they cleared their throat.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Well, this is certainly an unexpected sight."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Both Kara and Lena's heads snapped towards the entrance of Lena's penthouse. Unaware of who she was, Kara stepped forward, putting herself between Lena and the woman.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Who are you?" Kara asked, her voice low in an attempt to be intimidating.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena placed a hand on Kara's shoulder, "It's fine, Kara. This is my agent."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara looked back at Lena, who was trying to hold the shirt she had on down to cover her legs. Kara immediately slipped out of the robe and slid it over Lena's shoulders. Giving her a grateful half-smile, Lena wrapped the robe around her body and tied the belt into a knot to keep it secure.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Cat, what are you doing here?" Lena crossed her arms, an eyebrow cocked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cat ignored Lena's question in favor of not so subtly looking Kara up and down. "And who is this, Lena? You've never invited flings to your penthouse before."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena turned to look at Kara apologetically. Keeping her voice to a whisper she said, "Cat has a big mouth, but she knows when to keep a secret. She won't tell anyone."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara didn't even hesitate before nodding her head confirmation. "Ok, you can tell her."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Smiling, Lena blindly grabbed Kara's hand and interlaced their fingers.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"She's not just a <em>fling</em>, Cat." Lena looked back at her agent. "She's my girlfriend."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara let go of Lena's hand and walked a few paces forward. She stopped an arm's length from Cat. "Hi, I'm Kara Danvers," she introduced, holding out her hand for Cat to shake.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cat shook Kara's hand slowly, her eyes not once blinking at the sight in front of her. "Cat Grant, but you can call me.. tonight."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara smiled awkwardly. Her grip around Cat's hand slackened and she pulled away. "I- I am flat-flattered, really. Thank you. I just- I'm, um- thank you?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Cat," Lena groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Could you stop flirting with my girlfriend and tell me why you are here?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It's kind of hard to do that when she's standing <em>right there</em>, wearing, well, nothing," Cat admitted, not even trying to hide her attraction. She was always one to say what was on her mind. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Kara, go put a shirt on," Lena sighed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Sam's shirts are kinda small-"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Top left drawer in the dresser to the far right. There's an oversized sweatshirt with some random band name on it."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara walked off without another word, which Lena was grateful for. She already had Sam to deal with, she couldn't have her agent making googly eyes for her girlfriend as well. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"So, why did you just break into my penthouse?" Lena asked again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Now that Kara was gone, Cat regained her focus. "Right. I have big news for you, Lena Luthor. News that has the potential to make your career skyrocket, even more than it already has."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena's eyes widened in intrigue. "Do tell."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"A movie. A sci-fi, action movie," Cat started. "Uh-uh, before you roll your eyes, it's an all queer cast. They're looking at you and two others for the lead. I don't know who the two other actresses are, but I can tell you that they have already casted a secondary lead."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Before Cat could continue drawing Lena in, Kara's voice could be heard from Lena's bedroom. "Led Zeppelin! This sweatshirt has Led Zeppelin on it! That's not just 'some random band,' Lena!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena rolled her eyes affectionately. "Just put it on!" She called back.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cat failed to hide her smirk. "She's a fun one."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I wouldn't have it any other way," Lena replied fondly. "Now, who's this secondary lead?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cat's smirk grew into a grin. "A twenty-one year old, up-incoming trans actress and activist. Virtually a nobody, unless you've seen a very underground, albeit enjoyable, vampire movie. She's a phenomenal actress, Lena, and this movie will be her big break, with or without you. Let's make sure it's with you."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Excitement flurried within Lena. This was the type of representation the world needed. This was the type of movie she wanted to be a part of. How could she turn that down? Her younger self would've killed to have a film like this one on the big screen. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"That's so cool!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Both Lena and Cat turned to see Kara, now clad in a Led Zeppelin sweatshirt, with the goofiest smile on her face. "This is a big deal!" She exclaimed. "This is a movie, a big, Hollywood movie. And it has incredible representation. I know you've done a bunch of movies before, but I'll get to experience this one with you! You're an actress, I'm dating an actress!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>While Lena found Kara's spiel to be endearing, it put Cat off, and Kara must've noticed that in her expression.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Sorry, sorry," she apologized sheepishly, a red flush making its way up her neck. "I'll be quiet."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cat came closer to Lena. "Are you really dating her, or is she holding you hostage or something?" Cat questioned softly so Kara wouldn't hear her. "Blink twice if you're in danger."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Cat," Lena said, exhaling as she did so, "Kara, she's great. She's so much better than anyone I've had in the past. She rambles when she's excited or nervous, and that's just one of the things I love about her."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eyes widening at Lena's confession, Cat backed down. She spared a glance over at Kara, then looked back at Lena. "She seems... nice."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena let out a quiet laugh knowing that was the most she was going to get from Cat. "Thank you. Oh, and we're not going to go public with this just yet. Only a selective few know, along with everyone at the wrap party<span class="roman">—it's a long story," she added after Cat raised an eyebrow in suspicion.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">"Does Mercy know?" Lena's expression gave her the answer. "Lena, she's your manager. She needs to know, along with your publicist."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="roman">She put her hand up to stop her agent from drilling her out. "I know, I know. I was going to give them both a call, but life has been really hectic lately. I didn't want to have to think of logistical issues while Kara and I were just finding our footing," Lena explained. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cat gave her a slightly out-of-character, soft smile. "Don't worry about it. I'll tell them myself. You just have a nice day with your girl."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Thank you," Lena whispered sincerely.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Alright," Cat raised her voice to a normal volume. "Are you doing the movie, or no?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena looked over at her girlfriend. Kara shrugged, a wistful smile on her face. "It's your decision." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena beamed, "Cat, you honestly had me at queer."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She clapped her hands together, "Yes! Ok, I will send you an email with the details of when your audition is, where to go, and what time you have to be there. Your script will be attached," Cat announced, already making her way towards the door. "Also, your character is American, so, for the love of God, ditch the accent while you're going over your lines. I cannot have you losing this role because you sound too Irish."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I do not sound too Irish," Lena scoffed in offense. "I barely even have an accent."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Did you hear her just now?" Cat pointed at Lena, making Kara laugh. "Did you hear yourself? That's literally the most Irish you have ever sounded."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Ok, get out of my house before you offend me even more than you already have."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cat waved her off. When she pulled open the front door, a young woman with bouncy, blonde curls stumbled into the penthouse. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Miss Grant, I'm sorry!" The woman cried. "I have a man on the phone claiming that you are supposed to be having dinner with him tonight. Would you like me to make reservations for you?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena pursed her lips, "You really brought your assistant with you to my place?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I was not going to touch public elevator buttons myself," Cat told her. She brought her attention back to her assistant. "Eve, tell Harrison Ford that he can shove it. I don't date older men, especially when they are married."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Right away, Miss Gr-" Eve's words died on her tongue, her face suddenly becoming blanched. Cat threw Lena a confused glance as Lena followed Eve's eye line. She landed on Kara. Kara who was equally pale in the face. Kara who was frozen, gaping. Lena's first thought was that Kara was just shocked that Cat knew Harrison Ford, considering how much she loved <em>Star Wars</em>. Then, she realized that, no... Kara was gaping at <em>Eve</em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Eve?" Cat called.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>At the sound of her name, Eve snapped out of her stupor. She quickly exited the penthouse, tripping over herself. Her voice could be heard from down the hallway. Lena caught a jumbled mess of words that sounded suspiciously like "Sith" and "Han."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena vaguely heard Cat apologize for Eve's behavior, and then the door shutting, but her focus was on Kara. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Kara, are you alright?" Lena asked tentatively. She crossed the room to stand in front her, blocking her vision from where she was still staring at where Eve had stood. "Darling, can you hear me?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"She ru... life." Kara mumbled quietly. Too quiet. Lena could barely make out what she said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What did you say, darling? Can you repeat it a little louder for me?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara looked Lena in the eye. Her baby blues were devoid of their usual sparkle. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"She ruined my life."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you all so much for all of the birthday wishes last chapter! the quarantine birthday went well. my mom made me a cake, so i got pretty much all i could've asked for haha</p>
<p>also, i got bored and started a 5+1 thing story, there's gonna be six chapters and the first is already posted if you wanted to check it out ;) ;)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>tumblr link-a-doodle: https://bat206.tumblr.com</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Supergirl, episode 4x17, "All About Eve"</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hey! sorry for taking so long to get this out. final grades were due so i had to focus on school, but i'm back! today starts my spring break week, so i'm hoping to get another update out before i get back to school :)</p>
<p>note: there's a flashback thingy in this chapter after one of those line break things. hopefully you'll be able to tell when it happens, but if you have any difficulties please let me know in the comments so i can add a header or something to make it clearer in the future.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Of all the things Lena expected Kara to say, she did not expect that. <em>Oh, she's my ex</em>; <em>we used to be friends but we had a falling out</em>. Both of those things were anticipated. But Eve ruining her life? That was out of nowhere.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What are you talking about, Kara? Eve ruined your life? How?" The questions flew off of Lena's tongue in rapid succession. She usually wasn't so jittery, but she'd never seen Kara freeze up like that before. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara took a moment to take in a few deep breaths. Her inhalations first stuttered, but soon evened out as she regained her composure. Lena could see the awareness flood back in. Her face softened and her eyes brightened. Not quite the sparkling azure Lena loved so dearly, but getting there.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Subtly, Kara reached out and grabbed Lena's hand. Too focused on Kara's face, Lena hadn't even noticed the action until she felt the warmth of Kara's hand around her own. She instinctively laced their fingers. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Let's sit, yeah? This story is a bit of a long one."</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Once they settled onto Lena's couch, Merlot napping at their feet, Kara grabbed her phone from off of the coffee table. Lena looked at her quizzically, but it didn't take long for Kara to give her an explanation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara scrolled through her phone. She kept the screen away from Lena's curious eyes. "I'm pulling up a picture, but I don't want you to freak out or anything. Deal?" </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena's brow furrowed, but she nodded nonetheless. "Okay," she agreed warily.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara looked up from the phone. She was nervous, Lena could tell. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You have to know that I would've gotten around to telling you this eventually. It's never been my intention to keep it from you. It's just a sore subject and not something that really fits in with a first couple of dates conversation."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena's stomach dropped. It felt like a never-ending drop on a rollercoaster. "Kara, darling, you're starting to scare me."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With an uneasy expression, Kara bit the bullet and revealed the picture she'd been hiding from Lena. "It's my ex's account. She never deleted our pictures."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The reveal was rather anticlimactic, which was a good thing. Lena let out a breath of relief upon seeing a picture of Kara and another blonde woman in bed together. The woman was the one taking the photo, lying on her back. Kara rested on her side, propping herself up on an elbow. Kara smiled brightly at the camera, while her ex sported something next to a smirk.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena found herself laughing at the picture and Kara's worry about showing it to her. "Kara, this is it?" She questioned with a smile. "Everyone has exes. I certainly have a few. There's nothing wrong with that."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara didn't give Lena the reaction she expected. Instead of being relieved that Lena didn't care, Kara worried her bottom lip. She gestured to her phone with a jerk of her chin. "Look closer," she told her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Frowning, Lena looked back down at the image. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Kara's ex lying on her back. Kara with her chin in the palm of her hand. Of her left hand. Lena's eyes widened when they landed on what Kara was trying to tell her. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You- you were <em>married</em>?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>On Kara's ring finger was a shiny silver band with a decently sized diamond built into it. In her premature relief, Lena failed to notice the Instagram post caption.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>@leslie.willis</strong> <em>Can't wait to spend the rest of my life with this one @kzdanvers </em>❤️</p>
<p>October 2nd, 2015</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Engaged," Kara corrected shyly. "I'm so sorry for not telling you this sooner. I know it's a big thing, and you might not even want to be with me anymore, and-"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Kara, Kara, stop, no." Lena took in a heavy breath. "I mean it's a bit surprising, but it doesn't change anything between us. It's in the past, right?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara nodded eagerly, though the question was rhetorical. "Yes, of course."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena gave her a lopsided smile, but it soon faltered. That still didn't cover why both Kara and Eve looked like they had seen the same metaphorical ghost when they saw each other. The reaction would've made sense if Kara and Eve had been an item in the past, but Kara's ex-fiancée was not Eve.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Wait, what does this have to do with Eve?" Lena asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"She's the reason why this is a long story." Kara sighed. "For as long as I can remember, Alex and I have gone on yearly trips. Just the two of us. Last year was the first in however many years that we couldn't go because Jay was a newborn. Anyway, in April of 2016, Alex and I decided to go skiing in Colorado for a week. We had only been there for a few days when we got word of a heavy snow storm coming in. We didn't want to be stuck there any longer than we had to, so we decided that it would be best to just pack up our stuff and fly back home early."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara and Alex loved their sister time, but spending weeks tougher in a nine hundred square foot cabin was a no-go. It was a bummer that their trip got cut short, however neither of them wanted to suffer through the alternative.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What happened after you got home?" Lena asked. She found herself theorizing what was going to happen next and she didn't like what her brain was conjuring up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara took in a strained breath that left a dreadful feeling in Lena's gut. When Lena woke up this morning she hadn't anticipated how emotionally draining this day would become. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Well, I wanted to surprise Leslie. I didn't tell her I was coming home early. We got back into National City kind of late in afternoon, so I knew she would be home from errands or whatever."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara twisted her key and pushed open the door to her and Leslie's apartment. They had hopped onto the first one-way flight from Colorado to California they could find and headed out. After landing at LAX, they paid for a cab from there to National City. Alex and Kara begrudgingly split the nearly two hundred dollar cab fare. They didn't want to have to call Kelly or Leslie to drive all the way to Los Angeles to pick them up and then back.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara softy shut the front door, not wanting to make too much noise and ruin her surprise. Taking in the empty apartment, Kara frowned. Leslie didn't have work on Wednesdays. Wednesdays and Sundays were the only days the radio show she interned at didn't air. She was almost always at home, or out running errands. Considering that it was nearing six in the evening, Kara assumed she would be home.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Before she could call out for her fiancée, a bubbly blonde, far shorter than Leslie, rounded the corner, coming from where the bathroom was. She was wrapped in only a towel, humming the tune of an old song that Kara didn't care to try and decipher. Having not noticed Kara's presence, the girl wandered into the kitchen and went to grab something from the refrigerator. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara's bag slipped from her hand causing a dense <em>thump </em>to sound out in the apartment. The girl jumped at the sudden noise. She turned towards Kara and paled when she saw her. A flash of recognition crossed her blue eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Eve, what was that sound?" Leslie quickly appeared from around the same corner Eve had come from. She also had a towel thrown around her. It wasn't hard for Kara to start putting the pieces together.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Kara!" Leslie yelped. "What- what are you doing here? You aren't supposed to be back for another couple days."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A deep sense of dread formed in Kara's mind. Her stomach twisted in knots as she took in the scene before her. The titanium band that rested on her left-hand ring finger suddenly felt as if it weighed a ton.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"There-" Her voice came out quiet and scratchy. Clearing her throat, she went to explain herself again. "There was an incoming snow storm so we decided to head out a few days early. I thought it would be a nice surprise."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Well this is certainly surprising," Eve muttered under her breath, though loud enough for Leslie to send her a sharp glare. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>At the sound of her voice, Kara drew her attention to the blonde. She looked young—younger than Kara. Her appearance could've been tied back to a healthy diet, a consistant skin care routine, or plain ole good genetics, but there was a youthful buzz to the woman that set the inital thought firm in Kara's mind. She <em>was</em> young.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"How old are you?" The words slipped out of Kara's mouth before she could stop them. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eve looked to her. "Pardon?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara swallowed hard, "How old are you?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Oh, um, I'm twenty."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara's head snapped towards Leslie. The overwhelming waves of sadness and disbelief that once washed over her grew into a tidal wave of anger. Twenty years old. Eve was twenty years old. A college kid. Kara tried not to focus on the fact that she was twenty when she and Leslie met. History seemed to be repeating itself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Are you kidding me, Leslie?" Kara spit, her fists clenching. "Are you <em>fucking</em> kidding me?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Leslie gaped at the profanity that Kara cursed. "Kara, baby, relax, alright? This- this isn't what you think it is," she stammered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"No, Leslie, I'm pretty sure it is."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Kara-"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"No, stop talking," Kara cut her off. Her entire world was falling apart around her. The least she could do to maintain some semblance of control was to take charge of the conversation. Kara looked to Eve. "Eve, was it?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The younger woman nodded her comfirmation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I think you should leave," Kara told her. She tried to keep her voice as calm as possible. Her anger was towards Leslie, not Eve.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Oh, um, my clothes are in the bedroom and the food we ordered hasn't arrived yet, so..." Eve trailed off.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara scoffed incredulously. "Food? Are you serious- I-" She stopped talking, but reached into the front pocket of her jeans. She pulled out a twenty dollar bill. "Here," she held it out to Eve, "take this. It should cover a cab home."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eve hesitantly grabbed the money. "What about my clothes?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara cocked her head in the direction of her and Leslie's bedroom. "Go get them."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That room used to be her sancuary. No matter how bad her day had been, she could always come home and forget about her problems while laying on the sheets with Leslie. She used to be Kara's rock. The person she could go to when times got hard. Now it all felt tarnished.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With Eve fetching her clothes, that left Kara and Leslie to face each other. The tension between them was like low-hanging clouds on an overcast day. It was thick. The weight of it got heavier the longer they both just stared at one another.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Leslie was the first to break the silence, "Kara, let me explain myself, please."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara was quick to silence her by holding up a halting finger. She waited for Eve to come out from the bedroom and leave the apartment before she let Leslie continue. "Go ahead. Say your piece," she said, crossing her arms over her chest as a way of sheltering herself from the inevitable pain that was to come.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Leslie took a step toward her. "Babe, I'm- I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to get this far, to go this deep. It was suppsed to be a one time thing," she apologized. "I know, I know. That doesn't make it better and that doesn't justify anything, but... I'm sorry."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara's jaw clenched. Usually accidentally grinding her teeth together made Kara cringe, but this time around, it couldn't be helped. "How long?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What?" Leslie's voice trembled. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara saw the fear wash over Leslie's face. She wanted to throw up. "You said that it was supposed to be a one time thing, so how long?" Kara repeated, patience running thin. "How long have you been sleeping with her?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It took Leslie a moment to contemplate her answer. A part of Kara thought that she was going to lie to her. It wouldn't have been the first time. Leslie eventually let out a heavy sigh, "Do you remember when we got in that big argument? You walked out."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara worried her bottom lip, nodding. She wished Leslie would've just lied.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I went to the bar. That one near NCU. Eve was there. One thing led to another, we ended up back here..."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Leslie, that was eight months ago! Almost a fucking year!" Her resolve weakened down to a point where curses that weren't normally in her everyday vocabulary slipped out of her mouth like she spoke them on the regular. "While I was lying on my sister's couch, unable to fall alseep because you weren't next to me, you were sleeping with someone else. Someone you picked up at the same bar you met <em>me</em>."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara wasn't angry anymore. Was she upset? Of course. Was she hurt? Yes. Did she feel betrayed? <em>Hell yes</em>. But she wasn't angry. She rarely got angry. The last time Kara remembered feeling <em>truly</em> angry was when Jeremiah died. She was unreasonably mad at him for dying, and understandably mad at cancer for existing (though there wasn't much she could do about the latter).</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This was surface level anger. Her boss at her assistant job that she hated taught her once about finding the anger behind the anger. Usually the anger behind the anger wasn't even anger at all, but a different emotion that was less easy to identify. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>"Anger is a secondary emotion, Davis-"</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>"Danvers."</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>"Danny. You've gotta find the real reason why you </em>think<em> you're angry."</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Upon replaying Leslie's confession in her mind, Kara connected two dots that hadn't she hadn't noticed at first.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Eight months ago..." she started, her voice drifting as she counted back the months in her head. "That was September. You- you proposed to me in October, Leslie. Why did you ask me to marry you if you were <em>cheating</em> on me?" There was obvious pain in her voice. The realization hurt more than the actual admission of the truth. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara could see tears forming in Leslie's eyes. The amateur radio host crumpled under Kara's pained gaze. "Baby-"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Answer me!" Kara demanded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Leslie turned her head to avoid looking Kara in the eye. Kara could see the bob of Leslie's throat as she swallowed thickly. "I just thought that if I really committed to you, maybe my feelings for Eve would go away?" Leslie answered, her voice gritty. She still didn't meet Kara's eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Well, if that wasn't a punch in the gut... </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara felt an all too familiar lump in her throat. "Did- did I do something wrong?" Kara asked in a small voice. "Did I not give you enough? Did I not give you everything you needed?" She tried to wrack her brain for any time she didn't listen to Leslie or didn't do something she asked of her. She came up empty, which added to Kara's disappointment, but wasn't surprising. Whenever Leslie said jump, she jumped.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"No, no, no, Kara, this has nothing to do with you. This is all me and my shit. You did nothing wrong," Leslie assured her. "But, but we can fix this. Your sister-in-law, she's a therapist. I'm sure she can find us someone who can help us. A couples counselor?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Leslie," Kara began, managing a weak smile, "there is no <em>us </em>anymore. You can't fix something that's broken beyond repair." Kara fiddled with her fingers. It was a nervous habit she had, along with rambling. She just couldn't find the energy to ramble anymore. Her fingers caught on her engagement ring and it hit her like a ton of bricks. "Eve, she knew who I was, didn't she? You told her about me."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She walked a couple paces forward, stopping herself an arm's length away from Leslie.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Leslie was quick to defend Eve. "This isn't her fault."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara ducked her head. She swallowed, trying get rid of the lump in her throat. She felt tears pricking at the corner of her eyes. "I deserve better than being lied to." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sliding her ring off of her finger, Kara took Leslie's hand in her own. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"<em>No</em>, Kara."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara closed Leslie's fist around the ring. "I am letting you off. You can be with Eve. I'm not standing in your way anymore."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Kara, baby, no." Leslie fought desperately. "I want to be with you. I love you."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It's too late for that, Leslie," Kara shook her head. "You give that ring back to your mother, okay? Save it for someone who you really love."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"<em>Kara</em>."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara gave her one last forced smile, then pulled back from Leslie's grasp. She turned her back towards her ex-fiancée and made her way to the front door. "I will call the landlord and sort everything out with getting my name off of the lease," she explained while picking up her bags. "You're going to go to work tomorrow so I can come here to cle- clean out my stuff without you here," her voice cracked, but she pushed through to get all that she wanted to say out. "Then, I'm going to delete your number from my phone... and I suggest you do the same with mine."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Kara, please, wait. We can figure this out," Leslie cried, pleading.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It took Kara a great deal of strength to not turn around and console Leslie. Yes, she cheated on her, but one doesn't immediately fall out of love. Up until twenty minutes ago, everything in their lives was going fine. They were happy, content. They even had a wedding date set. Kara had been in love with Leslie since she was twenty years old. There were times where they broke up, thinking it would last forever, only to find themselves back together a few weeks later. All in all, Kara put her heart and soul into a relationship with Leslie for the past four years. That doesn't magically disappear overnight.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara sucked in a breath, "Goodbye, Leslie."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her tears finally began to fall once the front door slammed shut behind her.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena sat slack-jawed at the story Kara recounted. No wonder Kara had the reaction she did to seeing Eve. When someone uproots your life like that, intentional or otherwise, it leaves an impact. A scar that never truly fades.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Kara, I-" Lena started but she quickly found herself at a loss for words. How could someone cheat on a person like Kara? Kara who was sweet and gentle and put everyone else's needs above her own. Kara who got giddy about new sci-fi movies and loved puppies and would spend her entire life savings on potstickers if she could. Kara who loved fully, completely, and made sure to express her devotion at any opportunity she saw. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>How?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Unable to conjure up any form of consolation, Lena just reached her hand forward and cupped Kara's cheek. She tenderly ran her thumb over a light dusting of freckles. "I love you."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara released a stuttering breath as she leant into Lena's palm. When she blinked her eyes, tears escaped. "Thank you."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Smiling wetly, Lena brushed away a tear. "You don't have to thank me for loving you, darling. It comes naturally with you."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If it weren't for the faint blush rising on Kara's neck, it would've seemed as if she didn't acknowledge what Lena said at all. "I should've seen it coming," Kara sniffed. "Leslie loved attention. If I spent twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week with her it still wouldn't have been enough for her."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara croaked, "She and Alex didn't like each other. Alex and I were really close, even back then. Leslie hated that I used to rain check our dates to go out with Alex. She used to get so pissed off—and when she was pissed off, she made sure everyone knew it," Kara chuckled dryly, though completely devoid of humor. "Alex would have to make sure she didn't interrupt our dates or anything. And maybe that's my fault. I should've at least tried to make Leslie my main priority. Maybe then she wouldn't have had to look for affection elsewhere."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena thought back to the night of her and Kara's first date, when she met Alex at the hospital. The older Danvers apologized again and again for calling and cutting in on their date. At the time, Lena clocked it as Alex's mind being jumbled because she was so worried for her son, but she realized now that it was a learned behavior. Alex must've apologized to Leslie so many times when Kara was with her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena pushed the thought aside, instead focusing on consoling Kara. "Darling," she breathed out. "You did nothing wrong. You said it yourself a moment ago. No amount of attention was enough for Leslie."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I know, I just..." Kara trailed off. After taking a second to gather her thoughts, she said, "I couldn't control the fire that killed my parents, just like I couldn't control Jeremiah's cancer. But I had the power to change things in our relationship. I just can't help but to feel like I could've prevented what happened."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What happened wasn't your fault, Kara. No one told Leslie to be unfaithful. She didn't have a gun to her head. I don't understand why," Lena sighed, "but she actively chose to cheat on you. It was not your fault."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara surged forward, catching Lena off guard and knocking her back into the couch. Kara's arms were wrapped tightly around her waist. She nuzzled her face into Lena's neck. "Promise me something?" She murmured against Lena's pulse point.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena brought her hand to Kara's nape. "Anything, my love."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She looked up at Lena, big blue eyes only slightly brighter. "Promise me that if I do something wrong, or if you need more from me, you'll tell me?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena was never one to ask more of someone. In relationships, she always felt like she was undeserving of another woman's time and care. Why risk a good thing by wanting more? Lena hesitated, "Kara-"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Too many things in my life have gone to hell because there wasn't good communication, Lena," Kara interjected. "I need you to promise that you'll be open with me. That's sort of our whole thing, isn't it?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena had to remind herself that this was Kara. Kara wasn't Veronica Sinclair from boarding school, or Sara Lance from two movie shoots ago, or any other fling she hadn't been able to fully <em>click</em> with. This was Kara, and she and Kara fit together like two connecting puzzle pieces. Loving Kara was the easiest thing she'd ever done. Talking with Kara was effortless. If Kara could open up to Lena about two of the hardest things she ever had to go through, then Lena could open up to her about what she needed if the time came.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"As long as you do the same," Lena offered softly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kara didn't miss a beat, "I promise."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lena leant down, placing a gentle kiss to Kara's hairline. "I promise, too."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>wooo the first episode of season 6 aired! i'm very nervous for how this season is going to turn out, but i'm staying hopeful that they will give kara and the superfriends the ending they deserve. </p>
<p>anyways, thanks for reading! i really appreciate all the love i've received on this story :)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>tumblr link-a-doodle: https://bat206.tumblr.com</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you for reading! let know if i should continue :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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